...’Cause, I mean, isn’t it strange? He’s always like, “I’ll make what Myne thinks up,” but apprentice merchants aren’t supposed to be making things. They’re supposed to be selling things, or spreading them around. Since Lutz loves to work in the workshop and take the kids to the forest, he’s a lot more like a craftsman than he is a merchant. But well, at least he’s managing to do the workshop ledgers properly.
“Morning, Lutz. Good morning, Leon,” Myne said.
There were a lot of people in front of the workshop, dressed and ready to go to the forest, and standing in front of them all was a tiny figure in blue robes. It was rare for Sister Myne to visit the workshop without any warning, and if I remembered correctly, this was normally around the time she would be being taught how to play the harspiel.
“Good morning, Sister Myne,” I replied, before quickly noticing that there was an imposing figure with an immense sense of presence among the orphans wearing tattered clothes. It was the blue priest Sylvester from yesterday, wearing the raggedy clothing that only poor people wore. His feet were planted firmly on the ground, and his arms were crossed.
...What the absolute heck is going on?!
I nearly let out a shriek upon seeing Lord Sylvester, the expensive bow on his back completely contrasting with his cheap clothing. I managed to hold it in by clamping a hand over my mouth, but my mind had gone blank.
“Lutz, I’m really sorry about this, but I have to ask you to guide Sylvester to the forest. Leon, Gil, I ask that you both keep an eye on the children while they’re gathering. Will everything be fine?”
What the heck, Myne?! You really expect us to just go and take the archduke to the lower city’s forest?!
Lord Sylvester was in fact Aub Ehrenfest. I had been able to figure that out because, after meeting him during his tour of the workshop, Master Benno had stayed up late into the night talking to Mark. Lord Sylvester apparently wanted Master Benno to massively expand the scope of the printing industry, and I had been asked my thoughts on that as a leherl.
...Is she for real? Is she really expecting us to take him to the lower city’s forest?!
Gil was enthusiastically nodding, and Lutz seemed pretty nonchalant about the whole situation. It made no sense. Had I been able to, I would have screamed that they didn’t know who they were dealing with here.
...Or wait, do they actually not know who they’re dealing with here?! Do they not realize Lord Sylvester is the archduke?!
On second thought, Master Benno had been dragged out of the workshop the second it was clear he recognized Lord Sylvester, and since Lutz went back to his home at night, he hadn’t been there for Master Benno and Mark’s late-night discussion. Neither Myne, Lutz, nor any of the orphans here knew that Lord Sylvester was the archduke. Only I did.
I wasn’t sure whether or not I should reveal the truth. I opened my mouth to speak but then quickly closed it again, instead deciding to leave it all to Lutz and walking away. Dealing with the orphans would be a lot safer than dealing with the archduke disguised as a blue priest—messing up a little with them wouldn’t risk dramatically changing my whole future.
The second Sylvester passed through the temple gates, he grimaced and looked around. “So this is the lower city where commoners live, huh? Sure smells like crap down here. Looks like it, too. Aren’t there any servants here to keep this place clean? I don’t know how anyone can stand living here.”
Lutz, who had stepped ahead a bit to guide Lord Sylvester, turned his head back slightly and asked him who would hire servants to clean the city. It was a fair question since someone would have to pay these servants to keep the lower city clean, and as far as I knew, there was nobody eccentric enough to spend their own coin on such an endeavor.
“Who would... hire them?” Lord Sylvester asked.
“Yeah. The city doesn’t belong to anyone, so...”
“You fool! Don’t you know that the city belongs to the archduke?!” I instinctively protested after hearing Lutz’s casual reply. Telling the archduke to his face that nobody owned his city was like asking to be killed—or worse.
“Oh, right. In that case, Brother Sylvester, please ask the archduke to hire servants to clean the lower city. A lowly commoner like me could never be so brazen as to ask the archduke himself. But blue priests are nobles, right? I’m sure you can do it,” Lutz said with a smile. Honestly, I wanted to punch him in the back of the head.
Lutz! You’re being more brazen right now than anyone I’ve ever seen! But thankfully, in what could only be described as a miracle, Lord Sylvester didn’t get mad at all. We just kept walking down the lower city road.
“Whew. There are so many colors here that my eyes are starting to tire out,” Lord Sylvester said.
“That’s understandable, since the temple is pure white. The orphans reacted the same way when they walked through the lower city for the first time. Hey, Gil—or Fritz, even—could you tell Sylvester about how to walk in the lower city?” Lutz asked. “I don’t really know how the temple works, so I’m not all that familiar with what’s different here.”
It was a wise move leaving that to the orphans. Both Lutz and I were raised in the lower city, so we didn’t know what would surprise Lord Sylvester, or what he would need to be careful about.
“I’m pretty sure you’re Myne’s attendant, right? Perfect. Teach me.”
Gil
