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Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 3.4 - Chapter 8




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Meeting with the Plantin Company 

Today I would be having a discussion with the Plantin Company. At third bell, I left the High Bishop’s chambers with letters for my family and the completed collection of Mom’s stories. 

Tralala, tralala. I get to meet Lutz todaaay! 

When I arrived at the orphanage director’s chambers, Benno, Mark, Lutz, and even Otto were already on the first floor waiting for me, drinking tea served by Monika. 

“Thank you for your patience,” I announced. 

Once we had finished exchanging the usual lengthy formal greetings, we climbed the stairs and went straight into the hidden room. 

“Yaaay! Lutz, Lutz, Lutz! I’ve missed you sooo much! How’s my family doing? Is everyone okay?” I asked, leaping onto him as soon as we were inside. 

Lutz caught me, having expected this entirely, and patted my head with a grin. “Your family got real nervous when I told them you’d be stuck in the castle until summer while the archduke’s away. They thought for sure that you’d mess something up somehow.” 

“So mean! I’ve been doing my job there just fine!” 

I was stunned by how little faith everyone had in me. The legend of me being a saint had really been taking root among the nobles lately, so it was possible that my family trusted my capabilities less than literally everyone else. 

“And I worked so hard to make this book for Tuuli, too...” 

“That book?” 

“Yeah. She turns ten this summer, right? It’s my gift to her. Could you deliver it for me?” 

Here, when children turned seven, they were baptized and taken on as apprentices. These contracts lasted three years and ended when they turned ten, so in many ways, this was a pivotal age: kids either renewed their contracts, signed ones with new workshops, or got taken on as leherls due to their talent. 

In addition to this, the skirt length for girls changed from knee- to shin-high. You really couldn’t treat them as complete kids anymore. In Earth terms, it was like graduating elementary school to become like middle or high schoolers instead. They were still underage, but not exactly children. 

For Tuuli’s tenth birth season, I was giving her a collection of Mom’s short stories as a present. 

“Oh, that reminds me—Tuuli was talking about wanting to move to Corinna’s workshop when she turned ten, but how did that turn out? Is she going to join?” I asked, looking around at the members of the Plantin Company while continuing to hug Lutz. 

Benno glanced over at Otto before answering. “That’s what we’re here to talk about. We want your thoughts on it.” 

“Wha?” 

At Benno and Mark’s prompting, I released my grip on Lutz and sat down at the table. Benno and Otto were seated opposite me, with Mark and Lutz standing behind them. 

“You’re up, Otto. The Gilberta Company’s not my store anymore, so you’ve gotta handle this one yourself,” Benno said, giving him a light nudge with his elbow. 

Otto looked at me, but his eyes quickly began to wander. “Er... I can’t call her Myne anymore, right? Should I just go with Lady Rozemyne? Man, that feels so weird...” he muttered to himself, before taking a deep breath. “You know Tuuli’s lehange contract ends this spring, right? She’s gotta decide on her next workplace by summer, so I asked Benno to set up this meeting.” 

It seemed that the main topic of discussion was Tuuli’s future workplace, but I didn’t understand how that involved me. Why did my opinion matter here? 

“Tuuli’s on the road to signing with the Gilberta Company, and we consider her a very important asset,” he continued. “Not many people know the circumstances behind all this, but since she has connections to you, the archduke’s adopted daughter, she’ll be the most important hair stick craftswoman we have.” 

Tuuli was working hard to think up new flowers and ways to make them, and right now, I was only buying hair sticks from her and Mom. The Gilberta Company wanted to sign a leherl contract with Tuuli to secure connections with me, since I was one of the most profitable customers possible. 

“Up until recently, Corinna has let Benno handle the work that’s outside of her realm of interest. But now he’s started the Plantin Company, taking Mark and Lutz with him, meaning she’s lost all the people connected to you. See what I mean?” 

“So that’s why you want Tuuli in the Gilberta Company.” 

“Exactly.” 

Corinna wanted Tuuli in her workshop to strengthen the connection between me and the Gilberta Company. I nodded, feeling somewhat detached from the whole situation, when Benno interjected. 

“We’re not just talking about hair sticks here, either. You thought up that new dress for your knight, yeah? That thing’s important enough that Corinna’s trying to stay connected to you in any way she can.” 

“Oh, I see. Very interesting...” 

“You don’t really sound like you care about this,” Lutz observed. 

I responded with a big nod. To me, this seemed like the most pointless conversation of all time. 

“Just know this—if you exploit Tuuli for the store’s gain and make her cry, I’ll make sure you suffer for it,” I said firmly. “But right now, it appears that she wants to join Corinna’s workshop, and Corinna wants her. What’s the problem? Why does my opinion on any of this matter?” They could simply have her sign a leherl contract and be done with it. 

Otto gave a troubled frown. “Everyone involved wants Tuuli to join Corinna’s workshop, so that’s naturally what we’re working toward, but the question is whether she should get a leherl or a lehange contract.” 

I knew from Lutz’s circumstances that apprentices were treated differently based on their contracts, but since I could hardly call myself an expert on the matter, I looked to Benno for details. “The treatment she receives will vary based on which one she signs, right?” 

 

“Right, right. Leherls are fundamentally treated better than lehanges, but they’ve got less freedom, too.” 

Lehanges could get experience at a variety of different workshops by changing location every three years. They could improve their skills and establish a wider range of connections, but there wasn’t much in the way of job security—if their work wasn’t satisfactory, they weren’t guaranteed to receive a recommendation for a new workshop or have their existing contract renewed. And if they couldn’t find a new workplace, they really would struggle to survive. 

Leherls, on the other hand, lived where they worked, didn’t have to hunt for jobs, and received better treatment overall. In return, however, they were chained to one store for their entire lives. Just as Zack and Johann had said, they couldn’t go independent, and they couldn’t move to other workshops. Lutz and Mark had followed the Plantin Company when it split from the Gilberta Company, which was acceptable enough at the time, but they couldn’t go back now that it was an entirely new store. 

“Assuming Tuuli does sign a leherl contract with the Gilberta Company, the strongest chain tying her down will be you, Rozemyne.” 

“Wait, me?!” I exclaimed, slapping my hands against my cheeks and gasping in shock. “How would I be tying her down?” Never would I have thought that I’d be the one holding back my big sister, especially considering all she had done for me. A casual discussion wasn’t enough; something needed to be done, and quick. 

As I leaned forward, the blood draining from my face, Lutz laughed and dismissively waved his hand. “Nah, nah. You’ve got the wrong idea. It’s not that you’re literally holding her back—the problem is that she wants to be able to follow you wherever you go.” 

“What do you mean?” I asked, not really following his point. 

After looking at Benno, Lutz gave a small nod and continued. “The Plantin Company’s prepared to follow you to another city if we have to, and that means both Master Benno and me. If we’re gonna be printing and selling books, we’re best off sticking with someone who loves them as insanely much as you do.” 

It seemed that, as I was the printing industry’s wealthiest supporter, the Plantin Company were willing to accompany me wherever I went to spread both the Plant Paper Guild and the Printing Guild. They would be very strong allies for me. 

“And when I mentioned this to Tuuli, she said that she’d want to come with us too,” Lutz explained. 

Up until now, both he and Tuuli had assumed everything would be fine once she joined Corinna’s workshop in the Gilberta Company; she could stay connected to and meet with me simply by following Lutz and Benno. But now the Plantin Company had split from the Gilberta Company, with one dealing in printing and the other in clothing and accessories. If she became a leherl for the Gilberta Company, she wouldn’t be able to leave the store, and since they were an Ehrenfest-based company through and through, they weren’t going to follow me anywhere I went. 

“Mm? So Tuuli wants a lehange contract just in case? But, I mean, here I am in Ehrenfest. Ferdinand said that Sylvester would never let me go, and as far as I’m aware, my future will most likely be spent wed to his successor,” I said. That prediction was mostly just based on what I’d heard from Ferdinand, but with my saint legend and the printing industry spreading as quickly as they were, it was hard to imagine Sylvester ever sending me to another duchy. 

“But that’s just what the archduke’s hoping for, right?” Benno asked. “There are plenty of duchies stronger than Ehrenfest out there. If some political forces throw their weight around, it’s not hard to imagine you being forced into an arranged marriage.” 

“That’s true...” I whispered in reply. Now that I thought about it, while I had learned a lot about Ehrenfest’s geography, I barely knew anything about the world beyond it. At most, I was aware from my retainers that we were somewhere in the middle of the rankings in the Royal Academy, where nobles from all across the country gathered. It wouldn’t be surprising for Benno’s fears to become a reality. 

“If you’re gonna stay in Ehrenfest forever, there won’t be any problems. However,” Benno continued, glaring at me with gleaming dark-red eyes, “what worries me more than any political power is you going on a rampage. I can already see you demanding to change your betrothal to whoever has the biggest book stash, just like you rushed to join the temple the moment you found its book room.” 

“Ngh...” 

I could hardly argue back when I’d already set such a damning precedent. Maybe due to how long he’d known me, Benno had a good grasp on how I thought and acted; there was nothing I could say to convince him that I wouldn’t do something like that. 

“If you do lose control, we have no way of predicting where you’ll end up,” Benno concluded. 

Welp... Neither do I, really. 

Back in the day, the plan had been for me to think up inventions to sell while doing work at home, but I had gone on one of my aforementioned “rampages” after finding the book room during my baptism and subsequently ended up as an apprentice blue shrine maiden. Considering the other unpredictable events that had followed, resulting in me becoming the High Bishop and archduke’s adopted daughter, I could hardly call Benno’s worries unfounded. 

I gave Benno a big smile, trying to look as cute as possible as an impromptu distraction, but that just made him narrow his eyes. “This isn’t something to smile about, idiot.” 


With that, I quickly averted my gaze and turned to Otto, eager to change the subject. “So, um... the Gilberta Company wants to secure Tuuli with a leherl contract, but she wants to be a lehange so she can follow me wherever I might go, correct?” 

“Correct. Any ideas?” 

“Mm... How about you sign her on as a leherl, and in the worst-case scenario, open a (franchise) to move her elsewhere?” 

“A what now?” 

“Like... build a second Gilberta Company in another city and have her work there.” 

“A second Gilberta Company? So not an entirely new store?” 

“Right. Employees of the Gilberta Company can come and go as they please, and communication-wise, it would be treated as the same store. That way, Tuuli can continue working as a leherl for the Gilberta Company in another city.” 

Despite my attempt at an explanation, everyone present—most notably Benno, Mark, and Otto—looked utterly lost. Chain stores didn’t exist here, and few people who lived in cities went out of their way to move to another. There were cases where the owner of one successful store might end up marrying someone who also owned a store, but in a city where you could walk from one end to the other without much issue, there was no point in establishing more than one shop for any particular business. I couldn’t blame them for not understanding store franchises when they weren’t even really a concept yet. 

“Well, putting aside all that complicated stuff, I don’t think it would be a major problem to give her a lehange contract,” I said. 

Franchising was ultimately a compromise, and my main priority was ensuring Tuuli could take whatever path she wanted. I supported her joining Corinna’s workshop since she looked up to Corinna and wanted to work with her, but I didn’t see the need to bind her to the Gilberta Company for life. 

“You want to secure Tuuli as a leherl for your own sake, not hers, right?” I asked. “Well, if she intends to follow me, I can prepare a workshop for her at the snap of my fingers. I would be happier with her having more freedom as a lehange.” 

I had no plans to leave Ehrenfest unless I was forced to marry someone from another duchy. And even in such a case, with Myne’s savings and the money I had now, I could afford citizenship, a home, and a workshop for Tuuli wherever I moved. And in the event that I did stay in Ehrenfest forever, she was skilled enough that she could use my support as the archduke’s adopted daughter to start up her own workshop once she got older. There were plenty of ways for me to support her, even if she didn’t become a leherl. 

“...Yeah, you do have the money and power to help her all on your own now,” Otto murmured, his tone somewhat bitter. He had spent his entire life walking the tough road of a traveling merchant; it had taken all his savings to purchase citizenship and secure his marriage to Corinna. 

“Well, with all that said, if we assume that I am going to be staying in Ehrenfest, it would be best for Tuuli to sign a leherl contract with Corinna. This way, she’ll receive the best treatment and have a better quality of life,” I said, earning me a nod from Otto. “But at the very least, suggest franchising to Corinna and see what she thinks about it.” 

“Alright. I’ll pass this all on to Tuuli as well—the franchising stuff, and that you’ll set up a workshop for her if you have to,” Lutz said. And with that, our discussion on the matter came to an end. 

After shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Benno leaned forward. “Alright, that’s enough about Tuuli. I’ve got a request for you as head of the Plantin Company. I’ve made all the preparations to send Lutz to Illgner; could you make the arrangements with Giebe Illgner?” 

“Hm? Are you going to be okay doing business with nobles?” I seemed to recall that he’d had so much more business with nobles recently that he didn’t have enough people to meet with them all, leaving him unable to send Lutz off on a trip. 

Benno scratched his head and gave a vague grunt. From behind him, the previously silent Mark spoke up, his dark-green eyes crinkling in a smile. 

“The lehanges sent from various stores to work for the Plantin Company are all the best of the best,” he explained, “which is allowing us to handle business with nobles more easily than before. We now have a few hands to spare.” It seemed that the lehanges sent to redistribute Benno’s monopoly among their own stores were so extremely competent that even Mark was impressed. 

“Thing is, the Plantin Store doesn’t have many products,” Benno continued. “The more new goods we have that’ll catch the attention of nobles, the better. And when it comes to getting info out of you to make new things, there’s no person I want there more than our leherl Lutz.” 

“I’m the best person they have for researching new types of paper since I’ve made so much already. I promised to make everything you thought up, didn’t I?” Lutz said, puffing out his chest. 

“With the printing press complete and the picture books getting finished up, it’s true that now is as good a time as any to start thinking of new products. I’ll be able to speak to Giebe Illgner sometime around the next Starbind Ceremony.” 

“...That’s sooner than I expected. I thought we’d have to wait until winter socializing at least.” 

“Giebe Illgner was informed that Brigitte would be debuting a dress I designed at the Starbind Ceremony and decided to come to Ehrenfest to see the reveal. I believe I should be able to use that opportunity to send the Plantin Company to Illgner to start researching new potential materials for paper.” 

Illgner was personally invested in this matter, since he wanted to strengthen his connection with me and secure more export opportunities. Given our respective statuses, he couldn’t refuse my request regardless, but he certainly wouldn’t want to. All I needed to be careful of was making sure I didn’t accidentally force him outside his comfort zone by misusing my authority. 

“Alright. I’d assumed you could only talk to long-distance nobles in the winter, but if this is happening in the summer, I’ll need to hurry up with the preparations.” 

“That said, Illgner is so far away that if we’re going to be doing research over there, we won’t be able to return to Ehrenfest for some time,” I mused. “Are you sure the Plantin Company will be okay for that long without Mark and Lutz?” No matter how skilled those lehanges were, surely it would be hard for Benno to manage things all by himself. 

Hearing my concerns, Benno gave a bitter smile and shook his head. “Mark’ll be staying behind to help run the store. In his place, I’ll send one of the lehanges capable of dealing with nobles.” 

Does such a person exist...? I wondered, furrowing my brow as I failed to think of anyone who could take Mark’s place. “Who are you sending? We’ll be traveling to Illgner on my highbeast. Will they be able to handle that?” 

“That won’t be a problem. He actually knows who you are already. In fact, he was saying that he’s seen and spoken to you before.” 

At that, Benno, Mark, and Lutz all exchanged exhausted looks. Hearing that this person had supposedly met me already just confused me even more. I barely knew anyone back when I was a commoner, especially not an apprentice merchant capable of dealing with nobles. 

“I have no idea who you’re talking about. Who is it?” 

“Damian—Freida’s older brother.” 

The ever profit-hungry Othmar Company had sent Damian to the Plantin Company as a lehange. It seemed that Freida had lit a fire under her brothers, demanding to know why they wouldn’t do everything they could to get involved with Lady Rozemyne’s new business if they claimed to be good merchants. 

“Oh, right. I did meet him once during Freida’s baptism ceremony. In fact, I met most of Freida’s family when I stayed at the guildmaster’s place that one time. She has two older brothers, but I barely remember what either one looks like. What I do remember, though, is that they were all very assertive people who didn’t listen to what others said at all.” 

“And you’re exactly right—he’s got a sharp nose for profit and is about as pushy as can be.” 

Judging by Benno’s expression, Damian was probably working in the shadows more than anyone else to maximize his own profit within the Plantin Company. Everyone said that Freida resembled her grandfather the guildmaster most of all, but her older brother Damian was no slouch himself. 

“Lutz, will you be okay with him? You won’t let Damian talk you into a corner?” I asked, my worry now directed at him. I wasn’t sure whether he would be able to resist Damian’s manipulativeness on his own, and it seemed that he was just as concerned; rather than puffing out his chest with confidence, he let out a dry laugh and shot Benno a worried look. 

“I’m concerned about Lutz as well, but removing Damian isn’t an option,” Benno said. 

“Why not?” 

“He’s one of the best when it comes to dealing with nobles, he knows how to hold back on something to make more money down the line, and most importantly, he cares more about the invention of new products than selling existing ones. I also can’t turn down that old geezer—he and the other stores are forcing Damian on us to keep an eye on things, plus he’s been oddly cooperative lately. I bet I’ll need to return the favor a little to keep things that way. 

“I’m going to come with you on the first trip to Illgner to establish the Plant Paper Guild and sign some contracts as its representative. I’ll leave Lutz and Damian there, then accompany you when you return to Ehrenfest. Nothing we can do from there but lay some groundwork and prepare.” 

“Please prepare whatever you can for Lutz’s sake, okay?” 

From there, we discussed the money that would be made from producing plant paper in Illgner; we wouldn’t be able to negotiate with the giebe if we didn’t have it all worked out beforehand. I wrote down how the profits would be divided between us, notes for our stay in Illgner, and what demands and conditions to bring to the table. 

“Okay, so we’re sure that Lutz and Damian will be going to Illgner with us, right?” I asked, looking over my diptych once everything had been settled. 

Lutz raised a hand into the air. “Uh, I kind of want to bring a few gray priests used to working in the Rozemyne Workshop with us as well. Is that an option? I can’t really make paper on my own, and I’d suffocate working alone with Damian. We can prepare the tools ourselves, we just need the manpower.” 

“My official reason for visiting Illgner is to research plant paper, so of course I’ll bring some of my workers. You and Gil can decide on whom.” 

“That’s good to hear,” Lutz said with a genuinely relieved sigh. 

“I’m the one who wants new paper researched, so I really should be going there to do it myself. I appreciate you and Gil working hard in my place, so if you have any requests, don’t hold back; I’ll do whatever I can for you two.” 

“Thanks, but don’t worry about it too much. Heck, I’m just looking forward to going to Illgner at all,” Lutz said with a laugh, the tension draining from his shoulders. 

I let out my own sigh of relief. “It is a special occasion, isn’t it? I hope we can find some new types of wood, as well as alternatives to edile fruit and shram bugs.” 

“Yeah. It’ll be nice if we can make new paper and get more products,” Lutz said, flashing a merchant’s grin. Benno nodded, adding that they really did need new things to sell. 

“Oh, I’ll definitely be making more products for you—that is, more and more books. I have plans in place to print sheet music, and come winter, you’ll have a copy of Rozemyne’s Ravishing Recipes,” I said, proudly puffing out my chest. But then I remembered something— 

“Right, right. We’re still in the middle of determining what price the recipe book should be...” I mused aloud. “I’m not sure whether we should base the price on what we charged Father and Sylvester, or whether we should make it a limited edition version so we can jack up the price.” 

“Isn’t that obvious? Go for the limited edition version,” Benno replied, raising his eyebrows as though saying that I shouldn’t have even needed to waste his time with such a basic question. 

Mark smiled and nodded from behind Benno while he continued. 

“Hugo mentioned this before, but your recipes require pretty skilled chefs, given that they’re a real pain in the neck and take so many steps to make. Plus, they’re all completely new. Of course the recipe book should be expensive. Don’t make it cheap unless you wanna spread the recipes everywhere and lower their value. Keep it premium and gouge the heck outta them,” Benno said, a glint of enthusiasm in his eyes. 

As always, putting a high value on my otherworldly wisdom seemed to be the right call, and there was no reason for me to deny the advice of my teacher in anything business-related. 

“Anyway,” he continued, “a recipe book, huh? Pretty sure you’ll be able to sell it to that old geezer if you put in some recipes that Leise doesn’t know. Make as much bank as you can here.” 

“Just so you know, Benno, you have a downright evil look on your face right now.” 



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