by Miya Kazuki
“...This sure is a lot.”
“This is the first time they’re preparing for winter, so we’re basically starting with nothing. And there’s a lot of people there, too.”
“If they’ve managed with nothing up until now, why bother preparing this stuff at all?” asked Lutz, and I gave a pained smile. In truth, that had been my initial plan for the orphanage. I had thought it would be fine to just get firewood and food this year, then slowly get whatever else they needed over time.
“The problem is, my parents weren’t happy about me staying in the temple over the winter. Now I need to get all this stuff ready.”
“Yeah, you do pass out and end up stuck in bed a lot,” observed Benno. “Your family’s not wrong to be nervous about sending you off on your own.”
“Your chambers are definitely lacking a lot of little things you’d need to live there,” added Lutz.
Meals wouldn’t be a problem since I was already eating lunch there, but I was missing a lot of daily life stuff I would need for bathing and sleeping. I didn’t have things like towels or sheets, and my bed had a mattress but no blankets. Stuff from home wouldn’t fit in that room at all, and I would still need it all whenever I went home, so I had no choice but to buy new stuff.
Sadly, my room didn’t have a winter carpet to lay on the floor either. I was told that the one left by the last resident had gotten moldy in their absence, and was no longer usable.
“Myne, need me to lend you money?” offered Lutz.
“No thanks. You shouldn’t lend money to friends if you can help it. That kind of thing runs the risk of destroying a friendship.”
Fran came with my other attendants after third bell rang. They were all wearing gray jackets on top of their outside clothes. Their jackets were simple enough that they wouldn’t stick out at all if they had different scarves or gloves. But since they were all wearing the same jacket of the same color, they stuck out immensely.
“The faster you buy clothes the better, huh?” observed Lutz.
“Yup. I feel like I should just buy coats for them instead of new outfits. A coat would be warm enough that they could wear their priest stuff beneath it without a problem,” I suggested, which made Benno shout with his dark-red eyes widened in surprise.
“Not a chance! That’s not good enough. Buy them all a full set of clothes!”
“I know, I know. I just wanted to say it.”
“Yeah right. You were serious and I know it.”
Benno read my mind, so I averted my eyes and went to go outside while Lutz went up the stairs to get Tuuli.
“Everyone gets a set of clothes. You too, Tuuli. Just look for something you want.”
“Okay!”
Tuuli and Delia skipped away excitedly and began picking out clothes, squealing among themselves as they looked over the children’s outfits. Lutz and Gil were similar in height, so they started searching for clothes together too. Rosina, as a teen, was quietly looking at clothes elsewhere on her own.
“...Are you certain about this, Sister Myne?” asked Fran nervously. I did the math in my head and nodded. I had enough money left to buy clothes from here. With the math done, I glanced at the bag Fran was holding.
“The clothes here are cheap enough for it to not matter. If it gets to be a problem, I can just sell the books. Why don’t you go pick out some clothes for yourself too, Fran? You can even wear them in your room when it gets cold.” This was one of the few opportunities where I could act like a proper master, so I at least wanted them to enjoy today. Fran’s eyes wavered with worry.
“I am not certain on what basis I should pick my clothes...” When it came to his master, Fran could pick proper clothes based on where they were going, the season, their business, who they were meeting, and so on; but when it came to his own clothes, he was stuck. Fran was awkward when outside of his element, and it was up to me to teach him how to pick clothes for himself.
“First, look for things that fit you. Then look at what they’re made of. It’s winter, so you’ll want warm clothes. When you’ve found warm clothes that fit you, I’ll pick the clothes that suit you the most.”
“I would be honored,” said Fran, overwhelmed. I smiled at how out of his element he was, which somehow made me remember what Mom was saying yesterday.
“Fran, my mom would like to meet you. When would be a good time for that?” I told him that my mom wanted to see my room and make sure I would be safe over the winter, which made Fran lower his eyes with worry.
“...Sister Myne, I would advise that you stop her. I mentioned this before, but there are many in the temple who do not look well upon pregnant women and families. Delia would be particularly sensitive due to her history in the orphanage, and you would be giving the High Bishop information that would be wise to keep from him. If she wishes to meet me, I will visit her myself.”
“...That’s true. I’ll tell Mom about that.” After looking at Delia beaming as she picked out clothes, I gave a slow nod and kept browsing the adult men’s section with Fran until eventually Benno strode over.
“So you’re gonna be stuck in the temple all winter, huh?”
“That’s right. I can’t wear cheap clothes in the temple all winter, can I?”
“Of course not. You’re gonna need clothes for relaxing, clothes for when other people visit, pajamas, and clothes for going outside. You’re gonna want to go for some reasonably high-quality underclothes, too. Not to mention thick socks. The temple’s gonna be freezing in the winter.”
“...Bwuuuh. It’s all so expensive. Why do I need to care about how fancy my underclothes are? Nobody’s going to see them, I might as well buy cheap raggedy stuff.” I just wanted to focus on the outside, but Benno’s eyes flared wide with anger.
“Idiot! Don’t let your guard down anywhere! And you’re already sickly as it is. You need to wear as many good layers as you can.”
“So basically, buy as many clothes as I can wear?” I would need several pairs if I was going to wear them on top of each other. That wouldn’t be a problem if I were buying cheap clothes from my usual secondhand shop, but preparing multiple of the same outfit for the temple would be pretty expensive. Yet another blow on my wallet. My winter preparations were going to cost more than anything else.
“You can buy the cloth for your underclothes from my store and have your Mom or Tuuli sew them together. They’re good at that, yeah?”
“Yes, but... I don’t have the funds to buy that many pairs of clothes. Benno, when we get back to your store, please buy five of the books I showed you the other day.” Adding on new pairs of underclothes put me completely over budget.
“I don’t get why you’re not just printing more. You can make as many as you want as long as you’ve got ink and paper, yeah?”
“Aaah, well, we actually only had that one chance to print them.” I hung my head sadly, thinking of my failure. Benno raised a confused eyebrow, and I explained. “When the ink dried, the template curled up and it ended up useless. The art was built on the back of precise cuts, and unlike metal and wood we can’t just wipe off the ink, so once it dries we just can’t use the template anymore...”
It required a large number of pages to make all the picture books. I was planning on printing more if the thirty test books ended up well, but the templates were ruined. It was such a devastating waste of good art I wanted to cry.
“I now know that I have to prepare a bunch of paper and print all the books at once.”
“You can just order some paper from my workshops if you need more, y’know.”
“...No thanks, that’s too expensive. I’ll keep buying the stuff Lutz makes in the Myne Workshop.” I puffed out my cheeks and Benno grinned.
“I TOLD YOU! THAT ONE’S MIIINE!”
Suddenly, we heard Lutz and Gil yelling at each other as they ran through the store. Despite dealing in secondhand clothing, this was still a high-class establishment. Benno’s eyebrow twitched.
“...Myne, go
settle them down.”
I walked to where Benno was pointing and found Lutz and Gil engaging in a shouting match. Due to their similar heights, they had ended up wanting the same pair of clothing.
“Gil, Lutz, you’re being too loud. You need to be quiet when you’re in public.” When I finally reached them, they ran up to me holding onto the same pair of clothing they wanted.
“Myne, who do you think this would look better on?! Me, right?!” yelled Lutz.
“No! It’d look better on me! Right, Sister Myne?!” shouted Gil.
They both stomped towards me with terrifying looks on their faces. I looked at the blue jacket in their hands and let out an exaggerated sigh, shaking my hand.
“It wouldn’t look good on either of you,” I said, which neither of them expected. They shut their mouths with their eyes wide.
I wasn’t talking about the design, though. It was just that blue clothing would look especially chilly in the winter, especially given how light their hair was. The jacket would look fine in summer, but not really in winter.
“Remember what Benno told you, Lutz? Some colors look warm, some colors look cold. Which kind of color is this? What kind of color would be good to wear in the cold winter?”
Lutz gasped in realization and let go of the jacket. Gil, still holding it, tilted his head in confusion.
“Gil, you should put that back and try matching this red jacket and brown pants instead. Don’t they look warmer?”
“Alright. I’ll try that.” Gil turned around to put away the blue jacket.
Lutz slumped his shoulders a bit sadly and looked at the clothes I had picked up. The camel-colored jacket seemed thin at first glance, but the raised nap on the inside should make it pretty warm.
“Lutz, these dark-brown pants will definitely look good on you. Then you can match it with either this cam... this yellow jacket or this green jacket. They’re made of different materials, so just pick while keeping in mind you’ll be wearing them near your home.”
“That only gives me one choice!” Lutz grabbed the camel jacket and glared at me. Green cloth tended to be fairly expensive, so nobody wore green clothing around where we lived.
“Yup. With that in mind, blue would have been even worse for you, right?”
Lutz bit his lip in frustration and put on the jacket. It was a bit big on him, but that was ideal considering he’d be wearing layers and that he’d want it for next year too. The nape on the inside must have been pretty warm, given that his expression immediately softened.
As Lutz settled on his camel jacket, Tuuli came over holding a dress in each hand. “Hey, Myne. Which of these dresses do you think is best?”
One was a deep green dress with vibrant flower embroidery, the other was a simple navy blue dress. Personally, I wanted to see Tuuli wearing a white apron on top of the navy blue dress, kind of like a maid.
“Tuuli, why did you pick these two?”
“This one is cute. Like, the colors and embroidery are just amazing, aren’t they? It’ll match my hair too, but the other one is really nice and super warm.” She had lived a practical life up until now that drew her to the warm navy blue dress, but she actually wanted the deep green dress.
“I think you’ll stand out if you wear the cute one, but you can wear a coat over it during the winter. If you always wear something above it, I think you can pick whichever you want. I would go for warmth over cuteness, but you like the cute one more, don’t you?”
“Ngggh... This is so haaard!”
In my opinion, buying clothes she liked would be better for her to hone her fashion sense. But it was hard for her to pick fashion over practicality considering her upbringing.
“Sister Myne, I want these clothes!” declared Delia. She came skipping over to me with a pair of cute pink clothes in hand. She even had a warm-looking coat. Very cheeky, making me pay for a coat too. But she looked so happy I didn’t feel like commenting on it. Today I was putting my wallet on the line.
“Okay. Consider them yours, Delia.”
“I thank you ever so much, Sister Myne. Mmhmmhmm!” Delia let out a happy hum while looking at her clothes with a broad smile, happiness practically radiating off of her. Making her this happy was definitely worth spending a bit extra. I hadn’t ever wanted to learn how good it felt to dump money on a cute girl, but it was too late to go back now.
The sight of Delia loving her cute clothes seemed to give Tuuli the inspiration she needed. She thrust out the green dress towards me.
“Myne, I’ll go with the cute one!”
“Okay. You shouldn’t buy a coat here, since it’ll stick out in the neighborhood and at your job. Pick a warm scarf or shawl instead. Plus some for Mom and Dad too.”
“Okay! Thanks, Myne.”
After seeing Tuuli run off happily, I headed over towards Rosina. She had seemingly already picked out her clothes, judging by the rouge dress in her hands, but she was staring at a plain navy blue dress. It was such a plain dress that maybe even Wilma would want to wear it, even though she had said she would rather have art utensils than clothes.
“Rosina, maybe Wilma would want that dress?”
“I would imagine not. She said she did not want any clothes, as she is unable to go outside. She has grown capable of occasionally visiting the workshop, but in that sense she would prefer cheaper clothes that could be dirtied freely. It seems... It seems that the idea of dressing up makes Wilma feel nauseated.”
I thought it was a waste for someone as pretty as Wilma to not dress up, but if she didn’t want to, that was that.
“There is no need for you to be upset, Sister Myne. The fact that she now goes to the workshop with the children is immense progress for her.”
Rosina gave a soft smile, and we headed to the counter where Benno was waiting. Along the way we found Fran standing stock still in front of the men’s section. Perhaps due to the store’s demographic, there were more clothes for adult males than anything else. Fran was completely dumbfounded by all the choices.
“Have you made your decision, Fran?”
“...Sister Myne.” Fran turned around, wearing a rare pitiful expression. He was kinda cute when he was at an utter loss for what to do.
“You have a calm personality, so I think something simple would be best for you. Like this, or this. If you want to be a bit more fashionable, this or this.”
“...At this point, you might as well pick for me, Sister Myne.” Fran’s weak tone made Rosina’s eyes sparkle. She stepped forward, her chestnut hair bobbing.
“It seems you have your own weakness that you must conquer, Fran.”
“...Rosina,” I said, “I can tell you’re enjoying being in charge of Fran for once.”
“I would merely like to be of help to Fran as well.”
“Then I will leave his clothes to you. I’ve already stated my thoughts.”
“Sister Myne?!” choked out Fran as I left him with Rosina, who was giddy with excitement. I saw everyone’s clothes stacked on the counter by Benno, but nobody else was there.
“What? Benno, where’s Lutz and the others?”
“Yeah, they were being noisy pains in the neck, so I told them to pick out clothes for you. You’re gonna need at least two or three sets of clothes for your room, not to mention an outfit for formal occasions and an outfit for going out, yeah? Pick whatever you want from what they get, I’m sure it’ll all be good stuff.”
Lutz and Tuuli were in fierce competition since they had tied last time, whereas Delia and Gil were just participating since they were my attendants.
“...Gaaaah. This is going to be so expensive. Clothes for me cost the most, you know.”
“Of course they do, you’re dressing like a noble. People are already ticked that a commoner is wearing blue robes. Don’t make things worse by dressing like a poor person.” Benno’s argument was so right that I couldn’t do anything but hang my head sadly.
As I desperately tried to work out the cost of everything in
my head, Tuuli and Lutz brought clothes to the counter while practically gnashing their teeth at each other.
“How are these, Myne?”
They had brought blouses, skirts, and vests made of thick fabric. It seemed that they had looked for things other than dresses due to the lesson they learned last time. Then Delia and Gil brought more clothes on top of that.
“Sister Myne,” said Delia, “these are all really cute.” They set down dresses and tunics. It was important to remember that there weren’t many children’s clothes that were my size. Thus, pretty much every single piece of clothing in the store that fit me was now spread out on the counter.
As I thought about which to pick while all four of them stared holes into me, Fran and Rosina came to the counter as well, having picked out their clothes. When I told them I was picking clothes for myself, they laid down their judgment on one outfit after another.
“These clothes would be best for walking around the temple,” said Rosina.
“There is the Spring Prayer in spring, of course. You will be leaving the city with the High Priest, so you will need clothes of this class to match his. This and this will do,” observed Fran.
Fran and Rosina selected the clothes I would need to live in the temple without any input needed from me. I appreciated having such reliable attendants, but my wallet was in big trouble.
Noooo! I yelled on the inside, at which point Benno gestured Lutz over with a finger before whispering into his ear. Lutz’s expression lit up and he clapped his hands.
“I’ll buy your clothes for you, Myne.”
“Lutz?! Benno, what’d you tell him?!” I glared at Benno, only for him to snort derisively and look at Lutz with amusement.
“Half of my money’s coming from your inventions, and I never paid you back for helping my family get back in shape,” Lutz said. “It might not be good for friends to lend each other money, but there’s nothing wrong with giving gifts, yeah?”
Lutz puffed out his chest with pride, but this was a bit expensive for a simple gift. Not to mention that not even in my Urano days had I ever experienced a guy buying clothes for me. I faltered, not knowing what to do, and Benno pushed Lutz forward with a grin.
