The next morning during breakfast, Myne's eyes continually slid towards the door, willing it to open. Only once her mom had warned her on getting an upset stomach did Myne slow down enough to tear her eyes away from the door and focus on eating. Tuuli helped keep her mind off of the waiting by asking about the sourdough starter. After finishing breakfast, the two girls checked on the jar. It had only been resting since last night, so Myne hadn't expected to see any changes, but Tuuli stared down at it dourly.

"Are you sure it's alive?" she asked, pointing at the spongey, wet substance. If she had been a little younger, Myne might've had to slap her hand away to keep her from touching it.

"Just give it some more time," Myne insisted. "It'll double in size, and then we can get all the yummy bread we want from it."

Tuuli's lip turned up in a disgusted expression. "I'm not sure I'll want to eat it now…"

"You said that about my paruecakes, too."

"Yeah, but those didn't come from this... thing ."

Myne cackled, and her sister gave her a worried look. "This thing will make the best paruecakes you've ever tasted!"

The scope of her imagination reaching full capacity, her sister gave her another long look, before finally shaking her head and returning to "normal" things, like looming. Oh, well. Myne would make a convert of her yet.

Not long after, the stairs creaked from the weight of small footsteps. Myne squealed, and grabbed the papers filled with the writing she'd done last night before sprinting (well, her version of a sprint—more like an excited walk) to the door. As soon as it opened, she flapped the papers in front of a blinking Lutz.

"Lutz, Lutz, look what I did!"

"She won't show it to me," Tuuli pouted from across the room at the loom.

"That's because it's a surprise!" Myne tossed back.

But Lutz wasn't looking at her story with admiration in his eyes—instead, he was frowning. At her .

Uh-oh. Myne shrank back.

"You stayed up late doing this, didn't you?"

"Hehe...heh." Myne lowered the story. "Maybe…"

"She did," Tuuli said bluntly. "I saw her sneak out of bed."

"Traitor," muttered Myne.

Lutz sighed. He was wearing his regular clothes today, but his posture had changed since becoming an apprentice. He held himself straighter, even as he frowned at her, pressing the back of his hand to her forehead. "No fever, but a little pale. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine! Excited and—"

"How are you actually feeling?"

Her bottom lip puckered. "...A little tired. But I don't feel any weaker than usual."

Lutz gave her another shrewd look from head to toe. She tried not to squirm under his inspection, and exhaled in relief when he finally nodded. "Alright. Then I guess we can do a bit of work today. What'd you want to do?"

"I was thinking we could stop by the store. I had some ideas yesterday that I wanted to pass by Benno-san."

"Okay, we can do that, and I'll read your story later. Good job, by the way." He smiled then, but before a smile could get too large on her face, he added, "But don't stay up late again ."

"Yeees, Mom ."

"Good," her actual Mom quipped by the loom.

Myne whipped towards her and Tuuli, a horrified look on her face. "BOTH OF YOU?!" Never had she felt so betrayed…

But Lutz patted her on the head. "If you have the time to pout, you have the time to work. Leave your writing here, and let's go."

Myne hmphed, but obliged, grabbing her accounting work and tucking it under her arm. "Have a nice day!" Tuuli and Mom chirped on their way out. ...Traitors.

But her indignation didn't last for long. By the time they reached the bottom of the stairs to the street, Myne was out of breath. But she still smiled. It had taken her weeks to descend all the stairs by herself, never mind the time it took to go to the forest. Now she could go to the shop and run her errands with only one or two breaks in between.

While Lutz gave her a moment to catch her breath, she asked, "How was your first day at work?"

"Hmm…" Lutz kicked a stray pebble as he thought. "Kinda boring, honestly. All I did was clean stuff. But I asked a lot of questions, and I think that earned me some favor with the boss."

"Good! People like it when you show initiative," she said. "You are new, so it makes sense you're learning the basics first."

"I know," he said, scratching the tip of his nose.

Myne swatted his hand away. "Relax. You're doing good work. Just keep at it, and you'll get more responsibilities in no time."

Lutz met her eyes, then smiled. "Thanks. I will." He offered his hand. "Ready to go?"

"Uh huh!"

Holding hands was not only helpful to keep pace with one another, but it served as an excuse for Myne to walk close enough to whisper under her breath without being overhead. As they walked, Myne shared with him her new ideas and plans.

When they reached the store, a few customers were meandering around inside, looking through the clothes and merchandise. She recognized a few of her hairpins lined up on the shelves. Well-dressed employees stood to the side, ready to offer compliments and suggestions to loosen their clients' purse-strings. Myne still didn't know the names of the other employees (name tags weren't that useful when the general populace was illiterate), but she recognized their faces as they dipped their heads in acknowledgement when they passed. She didn't see a familiar flop of brown hair anywhere.

The ever-present Mark-san greeted them, then ushered them to Benno-san's office. Their employer was in the middle of some paperwork when they entered. Lutz stood to the side, waiting to be seated, but Myne strolled right up to his desk and slid her accounting work over his papers.

"I noticed that Otto-san isn't in the shop," she stated pointedly. "Hiding him, are you?"

Benno-san looked up from his interrupted work, one eyebrow ticked up as he glared at her…but the corner of his mouth twitched. "He's an accountant. Hardly the sort to be interacting with customers, wouldn't you say?"

"You just don't want him talking to them because they'll like him more than you."

"Hey, I'm twice as charismatic as that barbarian!"

"Uh huh."

Benno-san set down his quill, a grin breaking on his face. But it was gone in a flash as he composed himself, sitting up and lacing his hands in front of him on the desk. "So, what is today's business?"

"I have some new inventions for you," Myne said, matching his formal tone. "They're cost effective, too."

Benno-san's eyebrow arched into an elegant curve. He nodded, gesturing to their seats; Myne took hers, with Lutz sitting beside her. "I'm listening."

"It's spring now," she began, remembering the speech she'd rehearsed the night before, "but in winter, people only have so much to entertain themselves with. They have their handicrafts, and whatever games they can make up, but that's all."

"You are proposing...entertainment for them?"

"Exactly. Have you heard of playing cards before?"

Benno-san frowned. "They're a popular pastime for nobility, yes."

Of course they were. Stupid nobility… "And what are they made of?"

"Wood tiles, usually."

Myne held back a smile. That was what she was hoping for. "I know of a much cheaper way to make them."

Benno-san looked at her for a moment, tapping his fingers on the desk. "Out of paper?"

Her eyes brightened. "Yes. And the best part is, we wouldn't even need to significantly alter our paper-making process. Lutz can teach your employees at the workshop how to do it for three small gold coins."

" Three? "

"And the rights to the playing cards for a year for another five," she said, then added before he could argue, "That's how much you paid for the annual rights to my shampoo and its improvements. I'm only matching the costs." Myne hid another smile. Stories weren't the only thing she had on her mind last night. She wasn't going to be taken for a fool again.

Benno-san gave Lutz a sharp look. "She told you this for free?"

"Yes, Master," he admitted, sitting up straight. "When we first made paper."

Myne glanced at him from the corner of her eyes. She'd explained the process to him in-detail during their walk to the store, but she didn't know he remembered when she told him how to thicken paper back before he knew her secret.

"And you won't tell me , your boss?" Benno-san demanded.

"No, Master."

Myne hid a grin. Eying them, Benno-san leaned back in his chair. "Pastimes would only be popular during the winter season, whereas shampoo is in high demand all year round," he pointed out, his voice hard.

Ah. ...Hadn't considered that. After a moment of thought, she said, "Playing cards can still become a popular pastime the rest of the year, and the thickened paper is something that can be used for new projects in the future."

Benno-san frowned, rubbing his chin. "Hmm. I'll give three small gold for the paper improvements, and three for the playing card rights."

"Make it four for the rights, and you have a deal."

"Very well."

They tapped their necklaces together, and Myne smiled politely. "Thank you for your business, sir."

He sighed. "Getting outsmarted by a seven year old. Well, did you have more ideas on how to bankrupt me?"

"Bankruptcy, is it? Well, if you think of it that way, I could always take my business elsewhere..."

"Good luck getting anyone else to finance your ideas at a better rate," he said with a curling smile. "What are your other ideas?"

Myne grinned. "Well, I do have a few more… How difficult would it be to get paint?"

"Very. And the answer is no."

"I hadn't even asked yet!"

"Don't need to. We can technically already gather paints from the forest, but with our current workload, it would take too long and too many people to collect in a large enough quantity to sell. The price is higher, but it's simpler to buy whatever paints we need as we need them."

"That's what I was thinking," Myne sighed. "But that does bring me to my next idea. We could sell board games as another winter pastime."

Benno-san frowned. "What are those?"

Ah, so this was a new idea. "They're a bit like playing cards, but instead of using just cards, you use wooden boards and other pieces, too. The games are usually more complicated than the ones you play with cards, but that's part of the fun."

"That could be profitable," Benno-san admitted. "But how intricate do these pieces have to be?"

"Well, they can get pretty intricate, but I have some simpler ideas we can test first, to see how well it'll sell. All it needs are simple wood tiles, which Lutz and our families could make, and...someone who could do more intricate carvings." She explained the basic idea to him, of how they'd need one set of pieces with the carvings on them so they could stamp the rest of the tiles.

"I have a few ideas of who we can talk to for the carvings. Hiring a specialist will be expensive, though," Benno-san said. "But what's the game—"

Myne crossed her fingers over her mouth.

He let out a slow exhale. "One large gold coin for the annual rights."

"Two."

"We don't know how popular this game will be, and we'd still need to pay a specialist and your families."

"Nearly any form of entertainment will be popular in the winter, and we're already paying for several specialists for the paper and printing process. One large, eight small."

" I paid for them, you mean." Benno-san tapped his fingers on his desk. After a long moment, his lips curled up as he looked down at her from his long nose like a hawk. She suddenly felt like a mouse. "...Two large."

Definitely like a mouse. "Why?"

"Because it's about time for you to learn how much a specialist costs. I'll pay you two large gold coins, but it's up to you to hire your specialists this time. I'll cover the costs for the printing press's carvings, but you're responsible for these board game tiles. Mark-san will give you a list of recommended specialists."

She frowned. On one hand, hiring her own specialists would be a useful experience, and she'd get more gold in the long run if she struck a good deal. But the downside was, of course, making sure she did get a good deal. "How much does a specialist usually cost?" she asked.

"Depends on the project," he said. "For something like this, a few small gold coins would be typical. But the exact amount will depend on your haggling skills. And those seem to be sharpening up quite well ."

This was totally another test. "Fine..." she sighed.

Please, don't make her regret this...

After signing a contract listing their deals, Lutz suggested that she should get some rest, and they were soon dismissed. The two children enjoyed a hearty lunch at Myne's house cooked by her mom, and after a relaxing break, they retrieved their supplies and Myne's story before heading off to the edge of the forest where they could avoid prying ears and enjoy the pleasant spring weather.

Myne sat in the shade of a tree as she drew the characters for the shoji tiles on a piece of paper for a specialist to reference in the future, while Lutz cut wood blocks into small tiles beside her. After she was done writing, she read the story she'd transcribed to Lutz.

"I like that one," he said, when she'd finished. "It reminds me of the stories my mom used to tell me and my brothers."

"My brothers and me," she corrected. "Does your mom know a lot of stories?"

" Lots . Hers involve a lot more fighting than your mom's, though."

"Probably because she has four boys," she snorted. But she'd have to remember that. Maybe she could gather more tales from the neighborhood's parents. A wide variety could help her reach a broader audience.

Her mind was already working away at the problem when the sound of a knife chipping through wood stopped abruptly. Lutz looked at her with wide eyes. "Do you know a lot of stories? You know, from...before?"

She smiled softly. "Quite a few."

"Huh. Are they very different from the ones here?"

"Hmm… More talking animals, that's for sure."

"Your animals talk ?"

"Only in stories," she laughed.

He grinned. While his cheeks didn't dimple, his expression was open and almost giddy, his eyes sparkling, and she remembered the first time she saw him and thought of how young he looked. She didn't think that anymore, though. While he was still a kid by any standard, it was hard to treat him like one when this world hardened its young far more than she was used to seeing. But even though he tried to hide it, she could still hear the enthusiasm bubbling in his voice when he asked, "Can you...er, tell me some?"

She leaned her head back, looking up into the shaded canopy, where beams of sunlight danced between the leaves. Which story to tell? The first ones that came to mind were the Disney stories she and every child had grown up with. But while any other seven year old she was accustomed to might enjoy them, children from here might be too practical for those types of sing-songy fairytales.

But...maybe...that was exactly why they should hear them.

"Once upon a time," she began, "there was a girl who became a warrior..."

Myne's Current Account:

(S) Bronze Coin: 11

(M) Bronze Coin: 5

(L) Bronze Coin: 3

(S) Silver Coin: 4

(L) Silver Coin: 1

(S) Gold Coin: 23

(L) Gold Coin: 4

Total: 63,143,610 Lyons