Ascendance of a Bookworm

“Welcome back, Otto.”

Having finished all my work in the morning, I was greeted by Corinna’s gentle voice as I returned home in the afternoon. My dear wife welcomed me back with a cute smile on her face. I doubt there’s any greater happiness than this. Complementing her cream coloured hair and grey eyes, her tidy clothes gave her a gentle soothing aura and suited her well. Her round cheeks and smooth nose gave her a bit of a babylike face, but it was adorable to see her worry herself over it.

I really want to stand in the middle of the world and shout “My Corinna is the cutest girl in the world!”

“I’m home, Corinna.”

After having listened to the gruff voices of Captain and other men all day, Corinna’s voice healed my soul. Once again, I was made to understand Corinna’s greatness. I hugged my wife and indulged in the softness of her flesh, before breathing in her sweet aroma.

…Haa… I don’t want to go to work anymore. I’d rather just hug Corinna all day long.

“I wasn’t feeling too good today. If I can’t see Corinna’s happy smile I just… Hmm? You were here, Benno?”

“I was talking to Corinna before you returned home but it seems like you completely ignored my existence.”

Even though Benno said that with an exasperated look on his face, it’s only natural to not be able to see any guys standing next to Corinna. I don’t care if you’re her brother, don’t get so close to her.

“What were you talking to her about?”

“Who knows… Well then, Corinna, I’m going back downstairs.”

Without answering my question, Benno passed me by and left. After she followed partway to see him off, I could hear Benno say “have a good think about it”. Recently, Corinna has been under the weather quite a lot. Could it possibly be due to something Benno said to her?

“What were you talking to Benno about? It looked like he had something important to say to you.”

“Otto, once I make up my mind, I promise I’ll tell you too.”

Having been gently turned down, I replied “Okay, I understand” but in the depths of my heart I was thinking “Not again”. Recently, there’s been many instances of this happening. It feels like they’re sneakily plotting something behind my back whenever I’m away.

…Corinna and Benno are hiding some sort of secret from me.

Recently, due to necessity of keeping Myne’s circumstances a secret, I’ve often been asked to help out at the store or been taken along to business talks with the Merchant’s Guild. As a result of frequently coming in and out of the store, the leherls have all been interacting with me in a friendly manner and Mark even told me that he would soon be increasing the frequency with which I could enter the store, so I would like to think that I have earned a little bit of trust.

…At this point, what kind of secret would they need to hide from me?

Even if it were to be something business-related, considering it has caused Corinna to stop smiling for days, it shouldn’t be something that should be hidden from her husband.

…Hmm? Now that I think about it, I was never told that it was a business-related secret. Since I wasn’t allowed in on the conversation, I just naturally assumed it was something related to the Gilberta Company, but neither Benno nor Corinna ever said it had anything to do with the business. If it’s something unrelated to work then that must mean it was related to Corinna’s private life. But I can’t imagine something which would require Benno to tell Corinna and then tell her to keep it a secret. There were times when Corinna would say “If you do that, I’ll divorce you” as a joke or when she would be angry with me, but I can’t imagine her actually going through with it.

…I didn’t do anything that would anger Benno to that extent, right?

It’s scary to be left completely out of the loop without any idea of what was going on.

Was it a bad idea to say “Myne is Benno’s Goddess of Water”? Or did he get angry when I asked about his history with the Merchant Guildmaster? Is it because Myne took my advice to continue doing the work she had been doing and hence refused the invitation to join the Gilberta Company as an apprentice merchant? Or did they just not mention that it was business-related but had actually run into some sort of problem?

As I continued racking my brain, I tried observing Corinna to see if I could find any hints.

Is it possible that due to Corinna having been under the weather, Benno would tell me to “take responsibility and break up with her”?

…No, I don’t think that…

In that instant, I suddenly remembered something. It was something Benno told me before I married Corinna.

“The heir of the Gilberta Company is going to be Corinna’s daughter.”

The reason why a mere travelling merchant such as I was able to marry the Gilberta Company’s heiress Corinna, was because Benno wanted to find an excuse to turn down the Guildmaster’s advances and unify the store in a situation where he desperately needed allies. It wasn’t a marriage where I was desired for my qualities as a potential husband of the store’s heiress. I was only chosen because there weren’t any other options available.

It’s already been almost three years since I married Corinna in those circumstances, but we haven’t been able to have any kids yet. There were no problems in my daily life with Corinna, but from Corinna’s standpoint, it would be troublesome if she were not able to give birth to an heiress. It would disqualify me from being her husband.

…I would be cut off. It wouldn’t be something that could be appealed against by saying emotionally-driven words such as “we love each other” or “I don’t want to leave”. The company will always be the highest priority. Having discovered a probable reason why Benno might request a divorce, I tightly gripped my hand into a fist.

“Otto, what’s the matter?”

“Corinna, tonight I intend to put in even more effort than I have until now.”

“…Eh? I don’t know what you plan on putting all your effort into but your eyes are scaring me.”

At the very least, I have to make sure Corinna won’t divorce me. I’ll give my all to do anything Corinna asks of me. Seeing me burning up with motivation, Corinna made a worried expression and put a bit of distance between us.

“Otto, you must be tired after having just returned from work. I’ll head to the workshop now so please take a nap until dinnertime.”

As I was told to by Corinna, I took a nap to rest in preparation for tonight.

“Master Otto, there’s a message for you from Master Benno. After dinner tonight, he wants you to head to his room together with Mistress Corinna. Apparently there’s something important he wants to tell you.”

After I woke up from my nap, my servant Matilda conveyed Benno’s message to me.

“Not his office, but his private room…?”

From the situation alone, it was easy to tell that this was a very important discussion. The only time I was ever allowed into Benno’s private room was when I officially proposed to Corinna before our marriage. As long as I didn’t have business there, I would never go to the 2nd floor of the Gilberta Company which is where all the leherls lived. At the time of the marriage, one of the conditions was that I wasn’t allowed onto the 2nd floor where Benno lived so that people wouldn’t mistakenly think that a travelling merchant such as I was going to inherit the company.

Recently I’ve been forced to do a lot of work related to Myne so I have been coming in and out of Benno’s office and have occasionally gone to the 2nd floor. There were insufficient personnel who knew about Myne’s circumstances and whom she wouldn’t be wary of, so I was needed to make up for the shortage in labour. But I had never been called up to Benno’s private room.

“Corinna, do you know what this discussion is going to be about?”

After finishing dinner, the two of us left our dwelling and headed down the stairs. I wanted to collect as much information as possible before arriving at Benno’s room but Corinna just softly giggled.

“Of course I do. Brother is having this talk with us because I finally made up my mind.”

“Because you made up your mind?”

“Yep. Otto, you didn’t do anything wrong but I want you to be mentally prepared coming into this.”

Corinna’s troubled expression was cute but I felt danger from those words and instantly all the blood drained from my face. My fears from earlier were beginning to feel more and more realistic.

…Did Corinna make up her mind to divorce me!?

“Corinna, does that mean…”

Perhaps because my words were croaked out in a hoarse voice, Corinna didn’t pay me any heed and knocked twice on the door to the 2nd floor. Mark had apparently been waiting for us as he immediately opened the door and guided us inside. The leherls were still eating dinner but Benno had already finished and was waiting for us in his room. He probably chose to eat dinner separately because it was going to be a discussion that he wouldn’t want the leherls to overhear.

“Take a seat.”

As soon as we entered, Benno pointed at a chair in front of him with a complicated expression on his face. It was the exact same seat that I sat in when I talked to Benno before my marriage with Corinna. I instinctively tensed up and felt like my throat was dry. Back then, I felt ecstatic as if I was leaping headfirst into a bright future, but this time around, I was fearful and anxious that this happy lifestyle of mine was going to be taken away from me.

“There isn’t a lot of time until the leherls finish eating so let’s jump straight to the main topic. It has been decided that Myne is going to be entering the temple as a blue-robed apprentice priestess.”

“What?”

I repeatedly blinked as I slowly comprehended the words which were completely different to my expectations. The topic wasn’t about Corinna divorcing me, but rather, Myne becoming a blue-robed apprentice priestess. Honestly speaking, I had no idea why this had anything to do with me. I don’t think it’s something that needs to be said in the privacy of Benno’s room.

“Is this about her no longer being able to help me do calculations at the gate? Captain didn’t say anything but I don’t really think this is something that must be kept secret from the leherls…”

“…Do I have to explain from there?”

Benno looked annoyed but nevertheless gave me an explanation about the temple and orphanage and the difference between blue and grey robes. Having grown up as a travelling merchant, the only times I’ve ever visited the temple were when I bought citizenship and when I married Corinna, so I didn’t have the basic knowledge and common sense that a city’s inhabitants would usually have.

“I now understand why Captain didn’t talk about Myne entering the temple… But what does all of this have to do with me?” 𝒇𝘳𝐞𝚎𝓌𝑒𝑏𝒏𝑜𝙫ℯl.c𝚘𝒎

“Quit your job as a soldier.”

I became a soldier for the sake of marrying Corinna. If Benno wants me to quit, then that means…

With the new products invented by Myne, the Gilberta Company had not only returned to its former glory but was now getting more business than it ever had in the past. Benno was also pleased that he now had enough clout to bark back at the Guildmaster. Considering we hadn’t had any children yet, it meant there was no longer a need for the heiress of the company to marry a mere travelling merchant.

“Benno, I don’t care about your opinion. I’m never going to divorce Corinna! If you want kids then I’ll show you—”

“Who told you to divorce? Idiot, finish listening to me before you talk! I want you to quit your post as a soldier and come work in this store. Due to the new products Myne introduced, we have a severe shortage of human resources. I need you to come help out.”

“Huh? Eh?”

Benno’s words were completely out of my realm of expectations, to the point where I was having trouble following the conversation.

“The current Gilberta Company is already inseparable from Myne. Yet despite that, she’s become a blue-robed apprentice priestess at the temple which has strong links to nobility. I can not predict what kind of influence this will have on the company.”

There was the risk of the company being crushed by the mere whims of a noble, but on the contrary, there was also the possibility of it becoming a store which nobles frequently relied upon. At the current point in time, there was no telling what would happen in the future, but Benno wanted to limit the amount of influence Myne’s actions could have on the company as much as possible.

“I’m not only concerned about the influence of nobles. I’m getting a lot of petitions from that sh*tty geezer. I’m going to go independent with the stuff that has nothing to do with the Gilberta Company’s original line of business of clothing, such as Myne’s paper and the cooking industry that she’s going to be starting from now on. I will help Myne while she’s a blue-robed apprentice priestess. That’s why I want you to take my place in the Gilberta Company.”

If Benno were to start up his own company, he would lose all the permits and reputation that he has built so far. As a new business owner, he would have no backing from the nobility nor any funding. He would no longer be treated as the owner of a large company.

“…Does Myne have enough value for you to throw away your position as the owner of a large company? It only looks like a bad gamble to me. From your earlier explanation, I can already imagine that a commoner blue-robed apprentice priestess like Myne would be hated by the real blue-robed priests in the temple.”

Benno folded his arms and said “Well, that sounds about right” as if I was only stating the obvious. It seemed like he was going through with the idea despite understanding the risks. I wanted to stop him because I didn’t want Corinna to feel sad if something went wrong. But Benno had no intention of changing his mind.

“You know, I actually make bad gambles all the time. Even back when I gave permission for your marriage with Corinna, everyone around me was trying to get me to change my mind.”

“And you’re really going to feel safe handing over the store to someone like me?”

“I see… In other words, you want me to hand over the position of Corinna’s husband to someone else?”

Having found a weakness he could attack, Benno’s lips curled into an evil grin.

But his face wasn’t serious and it was clear he was only teasing me rather than seriously telling me to divorce Corinna.

“I’m Corinna’s husband! Who the hell would give her up?”

My relief at the discussion not being about divorce and my joy at being able to become a merchant again swept through my entire body. It was clear that Benno wasn’t going to change his mind, regardless of what I would say to him. In which case, it was in my best interests to ride this momentum.

“If you’re motivated, then I plan on training you as soon as possible. When will you be able to quit your post as soldier?”

“…As expected, I would need a turnover period to find a successor. I’ll talk to Captain so that I can quit the job as soon as possible.”

“Ahh, there’s more and more issues popping up. Well, do your best to talk it out with him.”

For the time being, it seems like I’ll be doing my job as a soldier while being trained as a merchant on the side. Even so, I was happy that I would be able to return to being a merchant and work to support Corinna from within the store.

“It’s necessary to have people around who would be able to support Corinna while she’s pregnant. It would be troublesome if you, as her husband, weren’t able to act as her pillar of support.”

“Eh? Then that means… the reason Corinna was feeling under the weather was…”

I turned to Corinna and started trembling in joy. I raised my fist into the air and shouted.

“Oh yeaah! Is the child going to be a boy? A girl? I want a daughter who looks like Corinna. What should we name her?”

I was so happy about Corinna’s pregnancy that nothing else was registering in my brain. All of my worries from earlier had been completely blown away. I’m going to be a dad! Daddy is going to work hard for the sake of his family!

“Otto, calm down. Do you remember what I was talking about?”

“Corinna is going to have a kid! I’m going to be a dad!”

“Wrong! There’s something more important before that. Quit your job as a soldier and come work at the store! Your training is going to begin! Do you remember everything?!”

“Ah? Probably? More importantly, should we celebrate with everyone? I gotta tell the entire city that Corinna is pregnant with my child and have them celebrate together with us.”

While my eyes had brightened up and my body language had visibly changed, Benno and Corinna made disgusted expressions.

“I didn’t want to tell you because I knew you’d act like this once you knew…”

“Nothing can be done about it, right? He had a dangerous look in his eyes today that was just like that time he went on a rampage when he wanted to marry me. I figured it would be safer to just tell him than have him act on any strange delusions. This way we can at least take countermeasures beforehand and keep the situation under control.”

Corinna had a troubled look on her face as she sighed deeply.

“Otto, you’re banned from telling other people until I give you permission. There’s always the possibility of a miscarriage.”

Being lightly glared at by Corinna’s grey eyes, I had no choice but to promise her I wouldn’t tell anyone about it. I made a promise but, I really really want to tell someone! I want to tell all sorts of people! I want to tell everyone in the entire city who I pass by! I want to tell them that I’m going to be a dad. That the cute Corinna is going to give birth to a cute baby. I desperately suppressed my urge to speak, but I couldn’t help my mouth constantly loosening into a smile. If cute and cute were put together, just how cute would my baby look!?

“Cheers to Vantole!”

We collided our wooden mugs against each other. During work, I was scolded and told countless times to “shape up” and eventually, Captain brought me out to a bar for drinks. I wanted to quickly go back home and hug Corinna, but this was a good opportunity to talk to Captain about my plans to quit being a soldier. I guess it can’t be helped.

“Pu~haa, delicious!”

Captain poured his behelle down his throat and then looked at me.

“…So? What happened?”

“Corinna told me not to tell anyone yet, so sorry Captain, I’m gonna have to keep it a secret.”

I waved my hand and kept my silence, but Captain (who also happened to be Myne’s dad), went “ahh” and looked like he had come to an understanding.

“Hey, congrats on having your first kid.”

“Wh-Wh, how’d you know?!”

“What else would your wife tell you to keep a secret? Not too hard to guess from that goofy grin of yours, too.”

…Was it that obvious? Well, I’ll be damned.

The cat was out of the bag in a matter of seconds. But I wasn’t the one who leaked it.

…Corinna won’t get angry at me, right?

I had such concerns in my mind, but nevertheless, while I consulted Captain with all sorts of important matters, I also ended up listening to him tell me about his own experiences. There aren’t many opportunities to have a heartfelt talk with someone about fatherhood. The common sense I knew was all learned from my travelling merchant father and wasn’t very relevant to the experience of being a father within the city. Benno and Mark also didn’t have any children so it was a valuable experience.

“Hey Captain, how did you come up with names for your kids?”