Apprentice Shrine Maiden Volume 2 (Premium)

by Miya Kazuki

  “Rosina’s thoughts on the matter are much stronger than those of other gray shrine maidens. I became an apprentice attendant at the age of ten, but Rosina was taken from the orphanage as soon as she came of age, so until returning there she did next to no manual labor whatsoever. Gray priests certainly did do all the chores and manual labor while she served Sister Christine.”

  Rosina had been young during the period where there were still gray shrine maidens around to take care of the pre-baptism kids. Since they had looked over her and she had become an apprentice attendant immediately after her baptism, she didn’t grow up doing manual labor. Her upbringing was a lot more privileged than mine and most commoners’.

  “Sister Christine was dedicated to the arts. The status of attendants is normally decided by age, but in her case, she prioritized artistic talent. It all seemed so natural back then.” Which was exactly why Rosina had become so dedicated to music. She wanted to please her mistress.

  “When Sister Christine returned to noble society and Rosina was sent back to the orphanage, she was shocked at the different lifestyle expected of her. I too only knew how special our circumstances had been after returning to the orphanage and discussing matters with the other attendants.” Wilma had been able to accept that her circumstances were an abnormality thanks to the fact that she had experienced doing manual labor up until the age of ten, but Rosina just averted her eyes from the harsh reality.

  “Rosina always seemed obsessed with returning to a life where she needed only play music. I am sure that deep down, she knew that even if a blue priest took her under their wing, things would never be the same as they were. But she must have convinced herself that you would be different, Sister Myne. That you would understand and provide.”

  “Thank you for your valuable perspective, Wilma. Here are the karuta for the orphanage. Please work your artistic magic on them.” Upon noticing that Fran was back, I left the karuta art to Wilma and stood up. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and lowered her hips slightly.

  “Sister Myne, if you would, please give Rosina time to correct herself.”

  “...Your requests mean a lot to me, Wilma. I will see what I can do.” And I would, but I had no intention of keeping her around if she wouldn’t do any work. As I told Gil and the orphanage children, those who do not work shall not eat.

  Rosina’s circumstances had been unique and out of the ordinary. No doubt the meeting of attendants would end up with everybody ganging up on her like a mob. I finished lunch with a heavy heart, then waited for my attendants to finish while I memorized some prayers.

  “Now then, Sister Myne,” began Delia. “Thank you for listening to what I have to say. First, the harspiel is so, so, so annoying! Second, Rosina won’t do her work. She’s the worst attendant ever! I can’t believe her!” She must have been holding all of that in for a long time. Delia’s blue eyes burned with fury as she began ranting, the dam finally having burst. She unleashed complaint after complaint, feeling indeed just like a growy tree thing shooting out roots. I honestly couldn’t help but smile in amusement at the sheer energy of her tirade.

  Delia basically said the same things repeatedly, so to summarize: Rosina played the harspiel late into the night, making music so loud Delia couldn’t sleep. She wouldn’t get herself up in the morning, she wouldn’t do any manual labor at all. She wouldn’t even listen to Fran, my chamber’s head attendant.

  “I understand your position, Delia. What do you think, Gil?”

  “The music’s annoying as heck, she doesn’t listen to people, she doesn’t work. I dunno why she gets to eat at all.” The principle of working for one’s own food had firmly established itself in Gil. He seemed annoyed that Rosina got to be an attendant despite not doing an attendant’s work.

  “Do you feel the same way, Fran?”

  “Largely. The harspiel being played late at night is certainly irritating, and the fact that she does not wake up in the morning is no help. During the day she just sits and plays music without listening to any instructions given.”

  I looked at Rosina. She was sitting upright and smiling calmly despite everyone badmouthing her. That was a relief, since I had thought that she might burst into tears after being hit with so much criticism at once.

  “Rosina, your thoughts on their criticism?” I asked, and Rosina tilted her head gracefully with a composed smile.

  “It is natural that I dedicate myself to teaching you the harspiel, Sister Myne. Manual labor would only hurt my fingers. I find it sad that your attendants do not understand at all the importance of the fine arts despite serving an apprentice shrine maiden.” As expected, Rosina’s perspective was founded in her experience serving Christine.

  “Your dedication to music is appreciated, but playing late into the night is disrespectful towards everyone. Stop playing at seventh bell, and wake up in the morning at the same time as everyone else.”

  “...Understood. However, Sister Mine, I would respectfully like for you to deepen your own appreciation towards music. I believe you would understand my position if you knew more of the fine arts,” complained Rosina as she let out a tragic sigh. Unfortunately for her, I only wanted the bare minimum of education necessary to get cultured. Books were my fine art. Reading was my true calling.

  “Rosina, I cannot give you what your former mistress gave you.” I looked at Rosina and straightened my back to give off as much masterly gravitas as I could muster. I may not have been much like other apprentice blue shrine maidens, but Rosina wasn’t like a normal attendant either. If she didn’t become aware of that, she would experience conflict with her next master as well.

  “I do not have the leeway to support an attendant that only plays music. Wilma is working in the orphanage, drawing important art while taking care of the children. You, too, will need to do work other than just playing music. I understand that your hands are important for your instruments, but at the very least you will need to do administrative work.” As it stood, Delia and Gil could keep my chambers clean and running by themselves. I would most like for her to take a share of Fran’s work—dealing with paperwork and managing the financial ledgers related to my chambers, the orphanage, and the workshop.

  “You will be an adult soon, Rosina, so I imagine you can read and write? You will need to do paperwork for me.”

  Rosina put a hand on her cheek and tilted her head, saying that she had never done paperwork. She was looking away from me with her blue eyes, as if saying she had no intention of listening to me.

  “There is a difference between having not done something before and being unable to do something. You can learn. There are a lot of things I don’t know either. But in the end, I do not want or need an attendant that will refuse to work at all.”

  Rosina looked at me and blinked slowly. I looked back into her deep blue eyes and gave her my final warning.

  “Think of your answer by tomorrow morning, Rosina. Will you return to the orphanage, or will you accept that serving me will not be the same as serving Sister Christine? No matter what happens, I cannot become Sister Christine for you.”

  The next day, Rosina said—with her eyes puffy and red—that she would work hard to serve as my attendant, and began learning to do paperwork and math despite her struggles with both.

  Delia was pursing her lips unhappily over having to keep taking care of the second floor herself, but she seemed pleased that Rosina was helping to lighten Fran’s load. Rosina also stopped playing late into the night, and I noticed that Delia had started secretly enjoying the music and looking at the harspiels. I suggested that she ask Rosina to teach her if she wanted, which made her mad, but it was probably just a matter of time.

  With that out of the way, it was time for me to spend every day gawking at just how inelegant and unrefined I was compared to Rosina. Every step and gesture she took was a reminder of how further ahead she was than me. When Rosina walked it was like she was elegantly dancing across a stage, each of her movements flow
ing like water, never going too fast or too slow. There was a peculiar rhythm to it all. The way she tilted her head, held a pen, brushed aside her clothing... Everything seemed as if she was using every ounce of focus to look as elegant as possible, but none of it seemed forced in the least. It was all completely natural.

  “Will I ever learn to carry myself as elegantly as you, Rosina?”

  “Math is much harder than acting elegant. What I want to know is how you developed your mathematical talents at such a young age, Sister Myne.” Rosina and I looked at each other, then laughed. We both had to practice to overcome our weak points.

  Delia and I learned to carry ourselves more elegantly, with Rosina watching and giving us pointers. Delia learned much faster than me, since she still had the goal to one day become a mistress.

  In the midst of all that, a lunch invitation arrived from the High Priest. The date was scheduled ten days from now, and in the letter he stated that I should bring my instrument so that he could see the fruits of my learning. The blood drained from Rosina’s face and our practicing intensified until, three days later, I could play the High Priest’s first song without any issues.

  ...Specific goals and tight deadlines sure do make people grow fast, huh? I rewarded Rosina for her efforts in teaching me with outside clothes, and rewarded Wilma for finishing the karuta with a bundle of paper to use for sketches.

  The Italian Restaurant’s Interior Decoration

  “Benno, when do you think you’ll be able to take me to an ink workshop?” I wanted to try making ink before winter came, and I wanted to do research at an ink workshop before starting anything. I stopped by Benno’s store on my way to the temple to ask about this, only for him to shake his head.

  “The ink can wait. Construction on the restaurant should be done soon. I want to talk about the decoration a bit more,” Benno said. “The outside of the restaurant’s all finished. The interior comes next and I want to hear about what kinda tapestries, art, and so on are used in the nobility’s section of the temple. Bring Fran with you, no matter what.”

  Benno’s tone made it sound like he wanted Fran’s opinion first and foremost, with me just being an afterthought. I couldn’t blame him; I wasn’t particularly well versed on what kind of interior decoration nobles liked.

  Suddenly, it hit me—I had another attendant who was probably well-informed about decoration and aesthetics. “Benno, should I bring my new attendant to talk about decoration? Her name’s Rosina and she’s a gray shrine maiden who was especially favored by an art-loving noble, to the point that she had an upbringing more privileged than a lot of laynobles. I’m sure she’ll be able to provide the kind of perspective a noble woman would have.”

  Fran had been educated by the High Priest and knew much about the nobility’s proclivities, but suffered from a lack of flexibility. The High Priest himself had a tendency to dislike the unnecessary, his mindset embodied by the phrase simple is best. In contrast, Rosina had been showered in the culture of an art-loving shrine maiden. She had a playful air to her tastes and had a knack for presentation. The number of flowers in my chambers had grown ever since she arrived, and they were becoming increasingly presentable to visitors.

  “Sounds good. I’ll bring a carriage to the temple tomorrow afternoon and we can go check out the restaurant. I’m gonna be sending Hugo there too, so do something about tomorrow’s food with whoever’s left.”

  It hurt that he completely ignored my ink problems, but I was glad the restaurant was finally getting finished. Lutz and I headed to the temple, chatting excitedly before arriving and telling everyone our plans for tomorrow.

  “Benno will be sending a carriage tomorrow afternoon so that I might visit his restaurant. Fran, Rosina, would you be so kind as to accompany me?”

  “Of course.”

  “Furthermore, he would like Hugo to see the restaurant’s kitchen. Please give him tomorrow off and direct him to the Gilberta Company. Will the new chef be fine on his own? Todd, I believe?”

  “I believe he will be fine, with Ella’s assistance.”

  I conveyed the plans to the chefs through Fran. Todd seemed uneasy, but I figured he could manage since Hugo had been fine with just Ella up until now.

  The next day, after lunch, I had Fran and Rosina change into their outside clothes while Delia helped me take off my blue robe and get me into my long-sleeved, noble-looking blouse. Given that Hugo would be at the restaurant, I needed to dress and act like a noble.

  “I wish I could go too. Geez! I’m always the one left behind.”

  “My apologies, Delia. I need Rosina’s informed opinion this time.” I tried to appease Delia as best I could while she helped me prepare with a vexed look in her eyes. Bringing Delia to the restaurant wasn’t in the cards, since I didn’t know just how much she would tell the High Bishop. Not to mention that Delia seemed to be conveniently forgetting that she was always left behind since she didn’t want to go to the orphanage and she would rather hone her skills than go to the forest, but oh well.

  “Perhaps I will need to prepare a reward for your service in minding my chambers while I’m absent,” I said meaningfully, before heading to the carriage Benno had prepared with Fran and Rosina.

  Fran was wearing his normal brown outfit, while Rosina was wearing a moss-green dress with a dark-green bodice covered in lined embroidery. It matched her wavy chestnut hair perfectly, and any way you looked at her, she was the model image of a rich young lady. I complimented her and she gave an embarrassed curtsy, saying I praised her too much. ...She acts super cute even when embarrassed. Can I mimic that? No, definitely not.

  During the carriage ride, I explained to Rosina what the Italian restaurant was and what our job would be. “We want the Italian restaurant to feel like an eatery for nobles. Our intended demographic is the rich owners of large stores, so the interior decoration needs to be classy. I would like to hear your and Fran’s opinions on it, with the understanding that it should be similar to a dining hall nobles would use.”

  “May I think of it as if I were decorating Sister Christine’s room?” asked Rosina, and I nodded. I asked Fran to think of it like he was decorating for the High Priest or the High Bishop.

  “In that case, please take care not to provide any opinions of your own,” Fran warned. “Hugo will be there, and it would be best if you spoke through us.”

  Things always got heated and foul-mouthed when Benno and I had business discussions. It seemed I would need to write my thoughts on my diptych today. ...I really don’t want to become a noble girl. They don’t even get to talk when they want to.

  The bouncing, shaking carriage finally reached the restaurant. The outside construction had indeed been finished, and we found Lutz waiting for us at the entrance. I had to act like a noble, and he had to act like a merchant apprentice doing business with a noble. We both kept our backs straight and our eyes level. The fact that we didn’t just grin at each other was commendable, if you asked me.

  “Thank you for graciously accepting our invitation, Sister Myne.” Lutz and I finished our farcical greetings, then stepped past the large, ornately carved wooden doors into the restaurant. Inside was a smallish hall that resembled the first floor of my chambers.

  “This is the reception and waiting area. To the left is the kitchen and to the right is the dining hall,” explained Lutz while pointing to the left and right. The right side of the hallway had a rectangular opening in it, which I could imagine would be the future location of a door. Behind it was Benno, who came this way after noticing us.

  “Thank you for coming, Sister Myne. This is the restaurant’s dining hall.” Benno also greeted me politely, as he would with a noble. The dining hall seemed to be based on my orphanage director chambers, since that was the noble abode he was most familiar with, but the result was an overwhelmingly white and featureless design.

  “I intend to run a wainscot along the walls, but the one I ordered with fanciful reliefs carved into it has not yet been
completed. It seems to be taking some time to finish.”

  Unable to reply, I wrote “delivery date of wainscot” into my diptych.

  “I have already decided on the wainscot and display shelves, but I do not know what art to display on the shelves. Sister Myne, I would be extremely grateful to hear your thoughts on what tapestries, art, sculptures, plants, and so on I should buy, as well as how to arrange them.” Despite saying he wanted to hear my thoughts, Benno looked straight at Fran and Rosina.

  “What kind of display shelves do you have in mind?” asked Fran

  “The contents of the shelves will depend on their height, width, and color,” added Rosina.

  Benno answered their questions in stride. He knew what was popular among nobles since he regularly did business with them. But as expected, Rosina dominated the discussion when it came to art and how to present it. Then Fran would offer cheaper alternatives to her suggestions while gently holding her back when she suggested something too extravagant for a restaurant. Still unable to participate, I just dotted notes down on my diptych while listening to their discussion. An onlooker would surely struggle to tell which of us was the master.

  “Sister Myne, what would you suggest we add?”

  “...Only one thing comes to mind. Nothing would complete the restaurant aesthetic more than a bookshelf in the corner.”

  Benno’s eyes shot open and, after stifling a scream of “You idiot! How much money do you think that would cost?!”, he glared at me.

  “Sister Myne,” chided Rosina, “I do believe books are too expensive to buy for decoration.”

  “If placed in the dining hall, the smell of the ink would carry over to the food.”

  My shoulders fell as both my attendants rejected my idea. I knew it was unreasonable before I said it. But he asked what I suggested, and I wanted to be honest with my thoughts. If honesty wasn’t appreciated here, I would have to just shut my mouth and let my attendants do all the talking.