Ear Muffs and a Careless Compliment
The residential district felt shabbier than the commercial quarter.
Where the commercial district had been mostly refined designs and brick buildings, here the structures were largely crude things of wood.
"Let's just pass through here."
This was a residential area where people lived, after all. No matter how curious I might be, casually gawking would only be a nuisance. As we crossed the hills of the residential district and drew nearer the mountains, a clamorous racket struck my ears.
"Is it because there are so many blacksmiths?"
The sound of iron being hammered carried all the way out here. The young master walking beside me suddenly stepped behind me and settled something over my head.
The noisy clanging of iron lessened at once.
"Young Master?"
"Ear muffs."
When did he even pick these up?
"When did you get these?"
I reached up to the ear muffs resting over my cape.
"Earlier. I bought them."
The young master spoke with a gentle smile. Really—if he was going to buy something like this, he should have gotten a pair for himself too. What am I supposed to do if he only gives them to me? I carefully freed the soft ear muffs from over my cape, gently smoothed back the long hair that had grown inconvenient, and put them on properly.
"Thank you."
They were warm, too… Was it because it was such a small gift? It didn't feel burdensome at all—I was simply happy. The young master flushed slightly and turned his head away.
And then we were just standing there in the middle of the road.
"Your hair has grown quite long."
The sudden remark nearly soured my mood. Who do you think I started growing it out for?
"Your short hair suited you before as well, but you look even more beautiful now."
At the young master's direct words, heat flooded my face in an instant. And I was flustered. My legs locked up, and I could feel my face going stiff.
I needed to say something—anything—but I couldn't. I was so flustered that my body didn't feel like my own. And why was the young master who said it blushing too?!
Standing still in the middle of the road, I could hear people around us clicking their tongues. Not that I had the composure to register any of that.
"W-we shouldn't just stand here like this."
Without looking my way, the young master turned his head slightly aside, seized my hand, and pulled me into a nearby blacksmith's shop.
My face must be bright red right now, right?
This was all the young master's fault. What on earth was he saying in the middle of a crowded street? And our clothes, too. What were we doing in broad daylight dressed as a nun and a priest? Even if marriage isn't forbidden for priests and nuns…
Ugh, I don't know. Why did the young master do that? Well, he does pull stunts like that sometimes, but wasn't that a bit too blatant?
"I-I'm sorry."
The young master bowed his head with an anxious expression. But my condition was beyond words.
Flustered, bewildered, shocked, my head burning—my thoughts wouldn't turn over properly.
"N-no! I was happy."
"Miss Julian, please take a deep breath and collect yourself. In the meantime, I'll… I'll step away for a moment."
When the young master moved away, I felt a little empty. Overwhelmed by extreme confusion, I just stood there blankly, unable to do anything.
Gradually the heat cooled, and my thoughts began to sort themselves out.
What on earth did I just say? That I was happy? About receiving a gift? Or about being complimented?
How flustered must I have been to blurt out something like that!
"Haa… tsk…"
A curse rose all the way to my throat, but I held it back. This was indoors, not a place where I was alone—the young master was watching me carefully from a short distance, and behind him stood the owner of this blacksmith shop.
So I held it in.
Ha, this—this isn't right! This isn't!
What on earth am I—
"H-have you calmed down?"
"Yes……"
It was all this man's fault. Why did he suddenly say things like that and shake my heart? Why did this man confuse me so much?
"Ugh."
When I let out a sigh, the young master fidgeted restlessly.
"So what do they sell here?"
"Just an ordinary blacksmith's shop."
Since we'd come in, I figured I might as well look around. Unlike before, Young Master Maximilian kept a slight distance, watching my mood carefully.
It bothered me, but I pretended it didn't, examining the items hanging on the walls and laid out on the tables. Well-honed swords, shields, chains, various tools made of iron were on display.
Things befitting a blacksmith who worked with iron.
"Swords…"
Though I said swords, it wasn't only weapons. Kitchen knives, nails, awls, needles—tools like those were visible too.
I looked to see what the shop's owner was doing.
The middle-aged proprietor of advanced years wore an indifferent expression. He seemed to know we would leave without buying anything.
Well, what would a priest and a nun buy here? He probably knew that churches and temples either used designated blacksmiths or produced what they needed themselves. That was why he was reacting this way.
I did feel genuinely sorry. Why did he choose this place as an emergency escape?
Wouldn't a secluded alley have been fine? The moment I thought of a secluded alley, my body shuddered.
Yeah, maybe not that.
"W-we'll come back later. Later."
In the end, after roughly browsing the merchandise, we apologized and left the shop. The proprietor snorted without a word, his expression stiff, as if he'd known all along.
I really was sorry.
"H-have you calmed down a bit?"
"Calmed down? Calmed down?"
After what you did to me, you're asking if I've calmed down?
I lifted my right foot and kicked the young master in the shin.
"Ugh."
I was the one who kicked him, so why did my foot hurt…? The young master didn't change his expression, only looking bewildered.
"Daaa—"
Unable to contain my temper, I kicked him again. He could have dodged but took the hits instead… Honestly, my foot hurt more, though…
"A-are you all right?"
"No, I'm not."
I whipped my head away and strode off. Whether the young master followed or not, I kept walking wherever my feet took me.
The place we arrived at was in front of the mine.
Mining was in full swing, and people were sorting the extracted minerals. I watched them work from a short distance away.
"It really is big…"
The mining site was truly large and expansive. First of all, there wasn't just one large cave—there were three, and various buildings had been constructed near the caves.
"Did you wish to see the mine?"
The young master, who had somehow come up beside me, spoke. I shot him a sidelong glare and kept my mouth shut.
"There are likely other mining sites besides this one."
According to the young master's explanation, each cave produced slightly different minerals? He shared what knowledge he had, but it wasn't a particularly interesting topic, so I let it wash over me.
There wasn't anything especially remarkable. It was just… seeing people working so hard even in this winter that felt somehow wondrous.
"Those people work to make a living, right?"
"I would think so."
"It must be hard, of course?"
"What work isn't hard? Their bodies may suffer, but they must earn a good deal of money."
Well, hard work does tend to pay better…
From inside the mining site, a person emerged pulling a cart loaded with minerals. That person's face was dirty with dirt and dust.
"How do those people wash?"
Dust like that wouldn't come off easily.
"Hmm? Wouldn't they use soap?"
Considering the price of soap, it would be hard to use freely, wouldn't it?
"Don't worry about it too much. This mine has existed for hundreds of years already. It will have facilities to match."
"You think so?"
"Yes. They would have taken care of such things for the sake of mining efficiency alone."
What if a miner fell ill or had problems and couldn't work? A day or two would be fine. But if it dragged on, various problems would arise, and the responsibility would fall squarely on the mine supervisor.
So they had no choice but to pay attention—that was the young master's explanation.
"Who would the mine supervisor be? The lord of this territory, of course."
The lord of this territory… meaning…
"So because the duke is responsible, they take that much care?"
"Yes. For the sake of his own honor, he would continuously punish any officials who tried to take bribes or embezzle."
Is that so…
"Then that's a relief."
"Did you feel sorry for them, by chance?"
"Yes. Because it seems like they'd need a lot—a whole lot—of soap."
I had briefly thought about sharing my soap recipe with the church so it could spread through the temples and be supplied here!
"I thought it might help if I spread my soap recipe."
"It would help, I'm sure. But this place will have its own systems in place."
I suppose so? I wandered around looking at the mine, then came back down the mountain.
"Do you not wish to look at the blacksmiths?"
"Well…"
Was it from walking around so much? My gloomy mood had lifted, and I was getting hungry.
"I'm hungry, so let's fill our stomachs first."
I wonder if there's a restaurant nearby…
Fortunately, there was a restaurant used by blacksmiths and miners, and we were able to fill our stomachs with a simple set meal there.
"Ahh, that hit the spot."
I stretched as I left the shop.
"There were a lot of people, but it was decent."
I'd gone in with high expectations because it was a busy restaurant, and it had been a good place.
"Shall we start looking into blacksmiths now?"
The young master said quietly.
"Shall we?"
Nothing else to do… and it's something we need, so shall we get moving?
We went around the blacksmith shops and stores, inquiring about private commissions. But strangely, there wasn't a single blacksmith who took private commissions.
"What? A private commission? And a secrecy oath on top of that? Stop bothering me and go home."
Was the secrecy oath the problem? Everyone seemed thoroughly sick of oath talk and recoiled from it.
"Why do you think everyone reacts like that?"
"I don't know… This is a first for me as well…"
From the young master's perspective, commissioning a blacksmith was a perfectly ordinary thing, so he couldn't understand why they were acting this way.
It was ordinary knowledge in what I knew as well, so it was baffling.
Could it be because we're wearing Metis Church clothes?
Because they think it's a church commission?
I fretted and went into other shops to ask, but no one would answer.
Only…
"It ain't a temple problem."
We could only learn that the church wasn't the issue.
In the end, we had no choice but to return to the temple empty-handed.