101 - Winter at the Menhishumi Church
Life since Hermine came has been comfortable, except for one point.
That one point being understanding the difference in status between master and servant, something that would inevitably have been corrected eventually, so I do not mind it much.
Since I can learn while seeing a tutor as a model, perhaps I should think of it as a good thing instead.
...Well, it does not seem like I will get used to it quickly though.
I cannot help feeling uncomfortable addressing an elder without honorifics, and I naturally cannot drop the '-san'.
I keep accidentally adding '-san' when calling her, and Hermine keeps correcting me.
...But overall, it is comfortable, is it not?
The biggest change since Hermine came is that I can study letters whenever I want, as much as I want.
Specifically, with Hermine's help, I can now read books in the study.
All the adults in the residence are literate, but except for Leonardo, they are all stationed at the residence for work.
Their work involves managing and maintaining the residence or guarding the guest rooms, so they are not there to teach me letters.
It is the same for Leonardo, who has been bringing work home lately.
I do not want to interfere with his work, and I want him to rest properly during breaks.
Because of that, a private tutor hired specifically for me is truly a wonderful existence.
Her job and my desires align.
No matter how much I monopolize her to learn letters, it is her job, so there is no need to hold back.
...Viva! A reliable tutor!
Holding a book I finished reading with Hermine's help, I open the study door.
Kokumaro had followed me to the entrance, but lately he has learned that he is not allowed into the study or the dining room, so he sits neatly at the entrance and waits.
"Huh?"
Now then, which one should I read next? I gaze at the titles lined up on the bookshelf.
I have been pulling out books that catch my interest and reading them, but the title that caught my eye today was a series.
There are volumes one through eight, but only volume six is missing.
...A gap? Did someone take it and not return it?
When I think of who reads books in the residence, it would be Leonardo.
I could read something else, but I am curious, so I decide to check the whereabouts of volume six.
...It would be sad if I started reading and only volume six was not in the residence.
Since Hermine came, the living room has been occupied by me and Hermine, so Leonardo has gone back to working in his personal room on the second floor.
I leave Kokumaro, who follows me wherever I go, waiting at the stairs, go up to the second floor, and head straight to Leonardo's room.
I do not go near the guest room on a whim either.
I am aware of my own carelessness, so I had better not do anything that would accidentally bring me close to Japanese.
"Itsurateru's Knight volume six? It is not here, but..."
Leonardo, who replies that he does not really read stories in the first place, mostly reads strategy books or reports, things that are not even really books.
If he were going to spend his leisure time on reading, he would rather take me to the city and order clothes and shoes at the tailor.
His current state is so unfortunate it is like he might say his hobby is his little sister.
"Should I have Bart or Tabitha look for it? If it is really not here, we could buy it at the Menhishumi Church, but..."
"Tabitha... that would add to Tabitha's work, so it is fine deshu."
For now, even if I buy the missing volume to fill the gap, I would be the only one reading it.
I do not want to make them buy something twice that might be found somewhere if we look well enough.
If I just want to read it, I have an option.
"Can I not read it in the Menhishumi Church's library? I will look for it there deshu."
I get permission from Leonardo to go out, and head to the Menhishumi Church with Hermine and Kokumaro.
The north wind hits my cheeks coldly, but my shoes and coat are warm since Leonardo had well-made ones tailored for me.
Hermine was surprised that I was going out on foot, but when I said it was also for exercise and to walk Kokumaro, she accepted it for now.
...If I were a proper young lady, I would be traveling by carriage, huh. I had never even thought about that.
Hermine, whose job includes teaching me ladylike behavior, seems to have thoughts about Leonardo's laissez-faire approach.
She has accepted the explanation about exercise for now, but her eyes are a bit scary.
This is a flag that Leonardo will be summoned by Hermine when we get back to the residence.
"I heard that village children come in the winter, but there are a lot of them deshu ne."
As I enter the grounds of the Menhishumi Church through the gate, I see many figures in the classroom that I also used during autumn.
Looking closely, it is full of slightly grubby children.
"The winter fallow season is the only time village children can learn, you see. I hear there are children in villages far from the city who cannot even get the chance to learn."
...I know. Because that was me.
In Mey Village, not even the adults, let alone children, could read and write satisfactorily.
There was no Menhishumi Church in the village, and there was no town with a church nearby either.
Even if there had been, it would have been impossible to commute until you were old enough.
The village was too far away to make the round trip unless your limbs were long enough.
And of course, it is impossible except during the fallow season.
Even children have work assigned to them in village life.
Moreover, the fallow season means winter, when snow falls.
It is nearly impossible for a child to make the round trip from village to town on snow-bound narrow roads.
"The city children hold back from coming to church in winter, so that is good, is it not nyo?"
"Is it?"
"Because it means they are supporting the village children's studies, right deshu?"
City children, living in the city, can come to the Menhishumi Church in any season.
They are different from village children who only have a chance in winter.
So I understood it as the city children giving way so village children could learn without worry during their limited opportunity, but was I wrong?
When I asked Hermine, who had furrowed her brows just slightly, it seemed my understanding was a bit off.
I had taken it positively, but apparently city children avoid coming to the Menhishumi Church in winter. It is not holding back, it is avoiding. Because village children are smelly and their clothes are grubby.
They avoid the village children, not winter, for reasons like the smell rubbing off on them or coarse language.
...So this world has discrimination too, after all.
When I think about it, since there are nobles and commoners, there are class differences.
The rich and the poor are both commoners but clearly different, and between city people and village people, differences would arise there too.
...The fact that I never even thought about it, is that because I am Japanese in my past life?
Strictly speaking, I think my past self also had some kind of discrimination or distinctions, but I was hardly ever conscious of it.
Even when told to understand the difference in status between me as the master and Tabitha as the servant, I can act as instructed, but I cannot truly feel from the bottom of my heart that we are people of different standing.
...Even if I learn how to put up a front, I do not want to get used to something like that.
I had heard that city children held back from coming to the Menhishumi Church in winter, so I decided not to attend in winter either, but now that I know the real reason for avoiding it in winter, I feel somehow uncomfortable.
I did not intend to avoid village children, but I suppose that means I was discriminating against them too.
I quicken my pace slightly and escape into the building as if to shake off the discomfort.
Of course, Kokumaro waits outside.
Guide Anna was in the central building, so I greet her lightly and get permission to use the library.
The Menhishumi Church's stated philosophy is to open its doors to anyone who seeks knowledge, but I was a little concerned whether it was really okay for someone who is not currently attending classes to enter the library.
...Ah, it is Nils.
I spot Nils coming out of a door at the end of the hallway, carrying an armful of cloth that seems to be laundry.
I was thinking of asking Nils to guide me, but it looks like he is working.
Come to think of it, I heard that Nils is not a student attending the Menhishumi Church, but works here taking care of the researchers.
If Nils is working, I cannot interrupt him.
"Oh? Miss Tina."
I was thinking I did not want to disturb him, but Nils spotted me instead.
I was already turning away, so he could have pretended not to notice, but Nils, being dutiful, seemed unable to ignore me after seeing me.
Even while carrying all that laundry, he hurried over to me quickly.
"Is something the matter? I did not expect Miss Tina to come in winter."
After rushing over, Nils notices Hermine standing behind me and stops a few steps short.
Then he puts the laundry down on the floor and gives Hermine a proper bow.
Nils greeting Hermine gives the same impression as when I first met him.
At Nils, who gives off the atmosphere of a well-bred young gentleman, even Hermine, who is harsh in her assessment of men, shows a slight softening of her cheeks.
...Hermine-sensei's misandry, could it be that? Like she was bullied by a brat when she was a child.
In other words, it is a future version of me.
If that brat (Teo) had not reformed, I would at least have written off boys my age as romantic interests.
If it went too far, I might have ended up without any hopes or dreams about marriage, and embraced spinsterhood.
Just like Hermine.
...Huh? If I ever fall in love, would the other person be my age (a child)? I mean, my inner self is technically an adult.
I wonder how that would work out. The possibility that suddenly occurred to me makes me feel a little weird.
Having one's inner self and actual age not matching does not seem like a very good thing.
...Well, whatever. I do not really understand love anyway.
They say you do not do love, you just find yourself fallen into it.
So there is no need to think too hard about it now.
...Me with a lover? I cannot imagine it at all.
I cannot imagine at all who I might fall in love with, but I know the absolute condition.
It is not looks or income, but being stronger than Leonardo.
If this one point cannot be cleared first, nothing else matters.
That much I am certain of.
Today I had my time eaten up by unexpected business, so I could not reach where I planned.
I will cover Tina's past life, which I have not touched at all, sometime soon.
I will fix typos and missing characters another day...
I corrected the typos and missing characters I found.