"There is one more thing I want to discuss with you, Head Priest."

  I arranged the paper in my lap and looked at the Head Priest. Sensing my gaze, he put back on the table behind him the files he had taken to read while I was rewriting Cinderella.

  "It's about the winter preparations for the orphanage…"

  "Winter preparations? … Ah, speaking of wood and food, the temple will not let the orphans be wronged. I will let Fran report to you for details. I won't be able to give you a clear answer until the blue-robed priests return from the Harvest Festival. But there have been no abnormalities in recent weather and no large-scale plague, so there will be no change in the grace of god."

  "Huh? Can you predict that?"

  As a matter of course, we wouldn't know how this year's harvest would be until the blue-robed priests come back. Why did the Head Priest have any way of making predictions? He hardly ever left the temple. How did he do that? I blinked my eyes doubtfully. I could get some information through my family, who frequented the market, and through the well-informed Gilberta Company, but he probably had no such access.

  "I can understand that about the weather, but how do you know if there's a plague in the villages? You've never left the city, have you?"

  "I have my way. I have not been to the commoners' quarter, but to the aristocratic quarter."

  To me, the city was the commoners' quarter where my house was, but to the Head Priest it was the aristocratic quarter. Knowing his source, I no longer had any doubts. Although this was entirely biased, I had always felt that there was a very insidious battle for information among the aristocracy.

  "Now that you've mentioned winter preparations for the orphanage, Maine, have you been planning?"

  "Yes, I have asked Mr. Benno to help me with the tools and necessities. As it is the orphanage's own business, I will ask the children to help as well as the gray-robed priests."

  "… do you mean young children who have not yet been baptized?"

  He looked shocked. He was an aristocrat who did not have to do anything himself, and did not allow unbaptized children to leave the orphanage, so he never thought of making them work. But this practice made no sense in the face of poverty.

  "It's normal in commoners' quarter, and even at a very young age, the children can help… Of course, I was sick in bed every time before, there was not much I could do."

  "I think so."

  "By the way, although the pork will be processed in the villages, we will be making gelatin and butter candles in the orphanage, which must have a very heavy smell when we work. Wouldn't it be a bit inappropriate if the stench is in the air because the temple is not that far from the orphanage?"

  "If it was from the orphanage, the blue-robed priests and priestesses may have a lot of complaints."

  "… sure enough."

  Making gelatin and candles would give a very strong smell, so I planned to do it outside the workshop. Although the aristocratic quarter is a long way from the orphanage, the people there couldn't escape the stench. If there was really nothing we could do, we could only work in the old workshop converted from a warehouse, but it was too cramped for many people and the tools were hard to carry in, so I thought it would be better to do it in the orphanage.

  "Normally, maybe, but it just so happens that the Harvest Festival will be held for the next ten days, and the blue-robed priests and priestesses will all be out of the temple. Even if there is some smell, it won't affect them. But after ten days, it's hard to say."

  However, I was not sure that pork processing would end during the Harvest Festival. We didn't even have pigs or tools ready yet. Maybe Benno could figure something out.

  "I see. I'll discuss it with Mr. Benno."

  I clenched my fist and decided that I would not let go of even the slightest hope. The Head Priest plucked at his bangs and said:

  "Maine, have you enough money to prepare so many people for winter?"

  "I'm spending money that orphans make for The Maine Workshop, so it's ok."

  "I'm relieved you won't have to bear the full cost. But I didn't expect the orphans to be able to live on their own now."

  "The grace of god is still necessary."

  I shrugged my shoulders at the Head Priest's exclamation. Without the grace of god, the income of the workshop would not be enough to support all the people. To be honest, Maine Workshop was a shady workshop that traded a small salary for underage labour.

  "I thought the orphanage would have a hard winter. What you've just said is the best news for me."

  The Head Priest gave me a rare look of relief and expressed his approval. I smiled when I felt that my efforts for the orphanage were meaningful.

  "As long as the preparations for the orphanage can be completed in ten days, everything will be all right. It is your preparations that I am worried about."

  What did he mean? By rights, I would spend the winter at home. Although I used to be a hindrance and relied on my family to make all the winter preparations, this year my mother was pregnant and I was getting taller, so I was determined to help out. But that wasn't something he had to worry about, was it?

  "I'll be home for the winter."

  "That won't do. You know there's a Dedication at the temple in the winter, don't you?"

  The Head Priest leaned forward, his pale gold eyes looking straight at me.

  The Dedication was one of the ceremonies that Fran and the Head Priest had told me about. They had reminded me that I must attend it. It was a ceremony to pray that next spring's crops will sprout, during which all the sacred tools would be infused with magic. If it was not completed successfully, the magic bestowed on the villages during the Spring Blessing would be insufficient, affecting the harvest of the whole year.

  "The Dedication requires a lot of magic, so you have to attend it. It must not happen that you cannot get to the temple because of a snowstorm. You have to stay at the temple all winter."

  "I know that if I live at home, I will probably miss it because of the snow, but living in the temple is not realistic for me. Not only will my family worry, but I am really sick a lot in the winter…"

  I could even say that because of this Dedication, I was given the status of a blue-robed trainee priestess, so I could understand the thinking of the Head Priest. But it was too much of a dilemma. I didn't know what my family would say.

  "I know how your family will react to this. So if your family is worried about you, I will allow them to visit you in the Dean's Office, which is the best concession we can make. Don't neglect your own winter preparations."

  It was easy for him to say "don't neglect it." Preparing for the winter was by no means an easy task. Although it looked like there was only one more place to prepare besides the orphanage, this was an entirely unexpected expense. Pale as death, I went out of the room.

  No, preparing my room for the winter is more trouble than the orphanage!

  "You look rather pale, Master Maine."

  "I'm fine, Rosina, I'm just a bit flustered. Fran, the Head Priest just told me I have to stay at the temple all winter."

  I answered Rosina's concern with a smile, then turned to Fran to discuss my winter at the temple. He nodded calmly at the decision of the Head Priest.

  "After all, the Dedication is very important, and I'm afraid you won't be able to go home in winter."

  "… I had no idea of getting ready for the winter. I don't know what I'll need."

  "We've already calculated how much wood and food we'll need to keep us safe for the winter, so it won't be a problem to have one more person. Considering your daily situation, we just need a little more of everything."

  I heaved a sigh of relief when Fran said "it won't be a problem". But the extra expense was still a big headache.

  "Rosina, could you go to the workshop and bring Lutz here?"

  "At your service."

  Back in the Dean's Office, I drank Delia's tea and continued to discuss winter preparations with Fran. I needed to identify all the things I need to prepare, including my daily necessities, materials and tools to make handiwork, and tools to pick the winter specialty "paru", and wrote them all on the writing board. Then I sent Fran to ask the chefs about their schedules so that I could see if anyone could stay and help with the cooking during the winter.

  After a while, Rosina and Lutz returned from the workshop.

  "Maine, what was it you sent Rosina to me about?"

  "Lutz, can pork be processed in ten days? I've never been involved in it, so I have no idea."

  He frowned when I told him the deadline the Head Priest had asked for.

  "Isn't that a hurry? I wonder if I can rent a smokehouse."

  "I also think the time is too tight, but the Head Priest said that only during this time will the blue-robed priests and priestesses not be in the temple. If there is really no way, I plan to make gelatin in the old workshop, but it is very narrow, so it would be hard to move all the tools there, right?"

  It must be very hard to work in a warehouse measuring only 10 square meters. Presumably imagining the scene, Lutz sniffed and groaned reluctantly.

  "I'm going back to the Company to ask my master. He should at least send one of his men to the countryside to ask if it is possible to process pork now. You can ask Fran to take you to the Company later."

  "Thank you, Lutz. I'm sorry to trouble you about this."

  Lutz set off for the Gilberta Company. I looked down at my writing board, thinking about how I would spend the winter.

  Even though it was only my share, the wood and food needed had increased considerably. It was months, after all, and even an extra child like me would still cost a lot.

  … Oops, money may not be enough. The picture book of Cinderella must be made quickly.

  "Master Maine, you also need to buy some winter clothes."

  "Don't worry about that, Delia. I'm thinking of doing it tomorrow. The attendants and orphans need winter clothes, too. Well… if I have to buy clothes for the orphans, why not take the attendants out shopping tomorrow?"

  No sooner had I said this than Delia, who was obviously very interested in shopping and new clothes, cried out excitedly. Rosina, on the other hand, was a somber contrast. Rather than go out shopping, she must want to stay in the temple to play the fespiel.

  "… the orphans will get the grace of god. If they don't have to go out, shouldn't they need clothes?"

  So far, they had survived by the grace of god, and they really didn't need new clothes if they were going to be in the temple all the time. But when it cleared up in the winter, I would send them out to pick paru.

  "But I will send the children to the forest some days in winter, so they will need hats and gloves."

  Getting the children used to the forest was not easy, and I would certainly take advantage of it. Especially since my mother was pregnant, she couldn't go to the forest this winter. I would send Turi out to the forest with the children to make sure we got the paru we need.

  … What? You called this an abuse of power? I didn't care what anyone said, I would never let go of such a precious sweet treat in winter!

  For this purpose, warm clothes, freight sledges, iron plates for making pies and shovels were needed. I wrote what I came up with one after another on my writing board. After calculating how much money these things would cost, I realized I didn't have enough money to pay for them.