First Letter

「What, Myne has returned to the Temple?」

「Really, Lutz?」

After hearing the news from Lutz, Dad and I both exclaimed in excitement. Mom had gone to the bedroom to check on Kamil, who had woken up after Lutz’s arrival, and came back with a happy smile on her face, holding Kamil in her arms.

「The noble baptism must have gone well! She came back to celebrate the star festival as a high bishop, and Gil called the Gilberta Company with the news.」

I was relieved to hear Lutz’s detailed explanation.

……I’m so happy Myne returned safely.

Around that time of spring, Myne was forbidden by contractual magic to treat us as family and became a noble.

She had said “I don’t care if I die from the Devouring, I just want to be with my family.” But in the end, she protected everyone.

Soon after the contract, Myne went to the noble town. Benno-san, who was not familiar with the nobility, told me bitterly about Myne’s position from now on.

「If she fails in the baptismal ceremony to become a noble, not only her life but also our lives will be in jeopardy. Even if she succeeded in the baptismal ceremony, she would have to continue to show her value to the other nobles. It would be a much more painful life than someone born a noble.」

The more I listened to Benno-san’s story, the more worried I became: Myne is literate, calculating, and brilliant in some ways, but she also has many oddities and omissions. As far as I know, Myne has always made mistakes in everything she does. I didn’t think Myne, who couldn’t fetch water, chop wood, or weave a loom, could live like a real noble in a place where any failure would get her killed.

「Myne, who couldn’t even make it to the end of a commoner’s baptismal ceremony because she collapsed, really finished a noble’s baptismal ceremony without error……?」

「So she didn’t collapse in the middle of the ceremony this time. That’s great.」

I don’t know how a noble’s baptism looks like, but she came back to the temple as a high bishop. Myne must have succeeded, and we were relieved to know that she got over the biggest hurdle. At the sound of Dad’s voice and mine, Mom turned to Lutz with a look of relief on her face.

「Thanks for letting me know. I’m relieved too…… Sorry about asking so much, but can you tell us how she’s doing if you ever see her at the temple?」

「Of course.」

Lutz readily agreed to Mom’s request, and Dad got in on the act and asked.

「Hey, Lutz, can you tell Myne about how I became the chief of the east gate? Tell her that she can rest assured I will continue to protect the city.」

He made it sound cool, but it wasn’t really that cool.

The previous chief was suddenly demoted due to punishment, and he became chief instead, but he was the cause of the punishment.

Because of this, he doesn’t seem to be able to take over his job very well. He complains about not being able to come home and have dinner with his family. Although things are better than they used to be, after a few drinks, he still feels down about not being able to protect Myne.

「O-Okay, I don’t know how easy it will be to talk with a noble, but I’ll try.」

I almost laughed when I saw Lutz’s forced smile. Dad always complains endlessly to him, and he has grown weary of it.

「I heard that Myne is going to be the new high bishop, so I’m working on getting ready to go to the temple for the Star Festival. I’m trying to catch a glimpse of Myne, even if it’s just for a little while.」

On the day of the Star Festival, I’m going to pick up tau berries, prepare a feast for the neighbors to gather and eat, and throw tau berries at the brides and grooms…… There is a good deal to do. It takes some preparation to go to the temple when you are not a relative of the bride and groom.

「Myne would be overjoyed. Oh, yeah. I’m going to sneak Myne a letter along with the papers I give her when I go to the temple. Maybe Tuuli or Uncle Gunther can write her a letter too? I don’t know if we’ll get a reply though.」

「Really? Of course!」

I was glad I had learned to write, because I could write to Myne, even though my handwriting was terrible. Mom and Dad frowned and shook their heads in contrast to my joy.

「Wait…… a secret correspondence with the nobility?」

「Isn’t Lutz in danger for doing that?」

I was horrified to realize that I had been so naively happy, not considering the danger. Just as I had put Myne in danger by wanting to protect her, now I was about to put Lutz in danger.

「Lutz! Myne put her life on the line to protect us! Don’t do anything dangerous!」

「Don’t worry, my contract magic with Myne means that I’m connected to her even if she’s taken in by the nobles and goes to the nobles’ district. And if the situation is such that I can’t pass her a letter, I can always stop.」

Lutz said strongly and began to lay out the tools for writing letters on the table. I have been using the tablet for letter-writing practice, but the inkwells and pens were left in the wooden box. I have never used them.

「…………Hey, can’t I write to Myne on a tablet?」

「What? Of course not. If you rub it with something, it will disappear.」

Lutz pointed out the obvious, and I glanced at the pen. I had never been able to write with a pen before, and I was having a hard time getting used to holding a pen.

「Lutz, we can’t use expensive paper. Wooden bills will do.」

Mom seemed to be more concerned about the price, as she changed her expression while holding Kamil in her arms.

「Wooden tablets are harder to hide alongside the other materials. Besides, this the paper I made with Myne, it doesn’t cost us anything.」

Lutz was desperate to get them to write on paper, and he was doing the favor for us so we couldn’t ask him for anything too burdensome.

「Then I’ll write first.」

Dad’s face tightened and he picked up the pen. He put ink on it and started writing. I stared at him, wondering if there was a big difference between a pen and a stone brush.

……I looked at him. Is it going to be alright?

He wrote that the neighborhood had not been affected by the incident and that the family and surroundings, including Kamil’s, were in good shape. He concluded, “Don’t worry about us.” Although his writing was not as good as Mom’s or the writing we see at the Gilberta Company, it had a sense of stability that showed he was familiar with the language.

「Who’s next?」

「I’ll do my best.」

I took the pen Dad offered and sat down in front of the letter and ink. I took the pen and sat down in front of the letter and ink, dipping the nib into the ink as he had done.

「Tuuli, you put too much!」

「Drop the extra ink on this side of the paper.」

I dropped the extra ink on this side of the paper, and Dad and Lutz adjusted the ink in a panic. I picked up the pen, which was a lot of work just to put ink on the paper, and started to write.

「Let’s see………”Myne, I am doing well. I went to Corrina to” ……Umm how do you spell “study”? ……And “sewing”?」

Dad and Lutz taught me how, and I finished one sentence, “to study sewing for a while”, and then my pen stopped. There are too many words I don’t understand.

Urgh…… “Just like I promised, I am training to make noble clothes for you. Look forward to it. I also made a hair ornament for you at Benno-san’s request. Did you get it?” I keep thinking of things I want to write……

「Tuuli! The ink is smudging. Lift the pen!」

I looked up to see a strange line coming out of the last letter, and a big ink stain where the tip of the pen was hitting. It was a catastrophe.

「Oh no!? Lutz, Dad, how do I erase this? How do I erase this?」

「Unlike a tablet, you can’t erase ink.」

Lutz, who was holding his head in his hands, told me so, and I stared at the pen. The ink stain spread out as I fretted over it, and the line became thicker and thinner as I applied slightly different pressure. What an inconvenient tool!

「Lutz brought me this pen, but it’s really hard to write with.」

「Oh…………… You’ll get used to it, and it doesn’t matter how many sheets of paper you use, you can always rewrite.」

Even if you say so, paper and ink are expensive if you want to buy them. It’s a waste of money. Besides, I don’t think I can write well now, no matter how many times I rewrite.

I’ll give up this time because I don’t have much time, and I’ll practice using a pen a little more before the next time. Mom sits down in front of the letter and ink with a nervous look on her face.

「Huh? Auntie Effa wants to write there too?」

Lutz, who had a new piece of paper in his hand, looked at Mom as she began to write on the same paper and exclaimed in surprise.

「There’s still some white space, so of course. Don’t talk to me. I can’t write if I don’t concentrate.」

With trembling hands, Mom began to write. I think she and I need to practice writing together. We knew what she was writing because she spoke each word out loud, but it would be hard for anyone else to read.

「…………Hey. Do you think Myne will understand her handwriting?」

I asked Lutz. Lutz thought for a moment, gave a small groan, and then said, “I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

「Myne will read it somehow. She can even read my bad handwriting. Don’t worry, I’ll write an explanation if she complains that she can’t read it.」


The Gilberta merchants got called to the temple, and that day we waited for Lutz’s visit. We waited for the knocking on the front door as we helped prepare dinner and prayed. We are even sensitive to the sound of the footsteps of the people who live in the same building going up and down the stairs.

「Lutz lives in Gilberta Company, so he might not be here until Saturday.」

Mom said, as if to herself. I nodded, returning my gaze from the front door to the vegetables in my hand. Lutz, who normally works every other day until he turns ten, has already signed on as a dapla apprentice and is living in the store. He may not get every other day off like I do as a regular dapla apprentice.

「Is Lutz here?!」

I thought I heard loud footsteps approaching, and Dad, who was supposed to be at work, came running in. It was unusual for him to come home so early these days.

「Not yet. It’s Gunther’s fault that Kamil started crying from the noise. Go check on him, since I and Tuuli will finish preparing dinner.」

It was in the middle of supper when the long-awaited sound echoed through the house. I heard footsteps running up the stairs and the words “It’s me, Lutz.”

「I’ve got her reply. I thought you were waiting for me, so I came as fast as I could.」

Lutz’s expression was cheerful as he held out a folded piece of paper to me, though he was panting in pain.

……Myne’s reply!

I quickly ran to the water boat to fetch Lutz some water. Mom stops eating and pours soup into a bowl for Lutz.

「At this time of night, you haven’t eaten dinner yet, right? Would you like to join us? We have a lot to talk about……………」

「Thank you, Aunt Effa.」

Lutz was so hungry that he drank some water to help him catch his breath and began to eat, reaching for the soup and bread. Dad and I faced each other and began to read Myne’s letter.

「Let’s see…… “I’m doing well.”」

Myne’s letter began by stating how she received my new hair ornament, which made her feel protected by her family during the baptismal ceremony, and I was very relieved. It also said how she was going to do her best for the star festival, and a new method for creating hair ornaments.

……A hair ornament made her feel protected? Just how hard must noble life be?

The Myne I knew was always doing as she pleased. She was frail and weak, but she never showed any signs of anxiety as she threw herself into whatever she wanted to do. But she never had anything to hold onto as a charm.

……Then I’ll have to make her a bunch of hair ornaments.

If my hair ornament can make Myne happier, I’ll make her a beautiful hair ornament to cheer her up. My sister protected me by becoming a noble, and this is the only thing I can do for her.

Next to me, Lutz started to talk about Myne’s condition today after he finished drinking his soup.

「Myne wasn’t any different even after she became a noble. I was all nervous and trying to be all formal but……」

He told me that there was a new hidden room in the orphanage director’s office at the Temple. It is a place where she could use the same tone and attitude as before. There, Myne dived into Lutz and complained that she was not getting enough hugs and scoldings.

……Lutz is so lucky.

Even if we went to a place like that, our family is bound by contract magic. We can never act as her family again. I am Myne’s big sister, but I seem to have become more distant from her than Lutz. That makes me very sad.

「Myne said she missed Tuuli so much, that she hardly ever came to the orphanage anymore.」

I was feeling sad and depressed when Lutz said that to me, and my blood started to boil.

「I miss her too! But even if I go to the orphanage, I don’t know if I can see her, right? That’s why I’m working so hard to go see her………」

「She knows. Even if you can’t see Myne in person, she’d just like to hear a little bit of you from the orphans.」

My head instantly went cold. I remembered how lonely Myne had been when she had come to live in the temple for the winter. Myne, who never got to see her family, was surely still lonely.

「I should go to the orphanage as much as possible so that Myne won’t be lonely.」

After my mutter Lutz said in a strong tone, “No,” and shook his head.

「If you want to be sure of seeing her, you’d better work on your hair ornaments and clothes now, of course. Don’t worry, I have explained to her about Tuuli’s hard work under Corinna-sama’s and the difficulties Uncle Gunther is going through now that he is the chief of the East Gate. When I told her that we were planning to go to the temple for the Star Festival, she said she would do her best as a high bishop.」

「Yes, that’s what she wrote in her letter.」

Lutz’s words that Myne was happy to hear our story warmed my heart.

……It’ll only be for a moment, but we’ll be able to see her. That’s all we can do for now……

「I’m really looking forward to the Star Festival, too.」

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