“You can continue, but you must make improvements.”
Sander said thoughtfully.
“Look at these places—the spacing between the characters is inconsistent, making the content appear scattered. This level of precision will hardly satisfy outsiders. If you could write the characters more neatly, making them almost as tidy as handwritten copies, and use parchment as the paper, I think that would be enough to silence some of the critics… Do you understand?”
Of course I understand.
Lulumia pouted inwardly.
If she wanted to pass the scrutiny of the clergy, she needed to focus on “quality.”
But she had to pretend not to understand here.
Lulumia asked in confusion, “Can’t we make it so everyone can afford the sacred texts? Parchment is very expensive; it takes a long time to save up for it…”
Now that things had come to this, Sander no longer hesitated and stood up.
“This machine is pretty good, but there’s still room for improvement. Let’s start by making the characters look better. I’ll personally allocate the money you’re lacking, but do your best to make it as good as possible…”
Sander glanced at Lulumia’s youthful face, a trace of worry rising in his eyes.
“Maybe I should find someone to help you—”
“No, no need.”
Lulumia waved her hands frantically.
If the church got involved, who knew who the printing press would belong to in the end?
“Why not?”
Come on, think of an excuse, you stubborn brain!
Faced with Sander’s very reasonable question, Lulumia froze for a second.
She racked her brain so hard that sweat started to bead on her forehead.
At the critical moment, she finally thought of a reason.
She nervously wrung her hands together and stammered her answer.
“This is something I made together with Sister Ino. We can’t let anyone else help…”
“Together with Ino?”
The wrinkles on Sander’s face trembled as he mused, “No wonder she’s been absent these days. What a mess. In that case, if you have any difficulties, let me know, and I’ll do my best to help.”
“Then I’d like to ask Grandfather to take a look at my design. There are some places where the spacing between the characters—I just can’t figure out how to improve them.”
Although the lack of money was a bigger problem, the saying goes, “Cast a long line to catch a big fish.”
If she didn’t first give this old man a sense of involvement, let him see the benefits of the printing press, it would seem too mercenary to ask for money right away.
Besides, all elders enjoy playing the mentor in front of the younger generation.
If she humbly asked for guidance and positioned herself as a student, she would definitely reap more benefits than if she just asked for money.
As expected, Sander’s eyes lit up.
Lulumia quickly brought the defective type molds to Sander.
Sander did not disappoint Lulumia.
As the leading figure in the church’s education system, he keenly and precisely identified and pointed out the issues Lulumia had encountered, solving a good number of font design flaws all at once—on one hand, Lulumia’s understanding of Ounheimian was far inferior to Sander’s, and on the other, Lulumia was no expert in wordcraft.
In comparison, Sander had incredibly deep knowledge in this field.
Although adjusting the character spacing felt a bit like playing whack-a-mole—solving one issue only for another to pop up—overall, the problems were indeed being reduced step by step.
Occasionally, Lulumia would even offer solutions from a modern perspective, giving Sander new insights and ideas.
It wasn’t until the smell of food wafted through the corridor that the two realized it was already noon.
“Not bad, not bad, you have real talent. I’ve never seen anyone approach problem-solving the way you do. There’s really no need to strictly imitate the script style—switching to the print style you mentioned, which is more suited for printing, is an idea worth considering. I’ll think it over some more when I get back and come see you again in a few days.”
A morning’s worth of discussion had completely changed Sander’s impression of Lulumia.
Now he regarded her the way a Teacher looks at an excellent student, his eyes filled only with approval and appreciation.
Years of monotonous work had dulled him without him even realizing it.
He hadn’t encountered such creative problems in a long time, and today’s brainstorming had awakened his long-stagnant mind, satisfying his creative urge and making him feel as if he’d returned to the youthful days of debating scripture with other clergy.
His whole face glowed with excitement.
Feeling refreshed, Sander rolled up the papers covered in writing and tucked them into his chest.
“Your name is Lulumia, isn’t it?”
“Yes, Teacher.”
Lulumia now addressed Sander as Teacher.
Hearing this, Sander’s wrinkled face broke into a wide smile.
Others only cared about his identity as Cardinal, forgetting the side of him that taught and nurtured others.
Thus, when Lulumia called him Teacher, he felt a rare joy that this part of him had finally been acknowledged.
“Good, good, good. Ino has really found herself a well-behaved magi-puppet. It’s about time—let’s go to the cafeteria for lunch. There are still a few questions I want to discuss with you—do you have any difficulties?”
Seeing the hesitation on Lulumia’s face, Sander couldn’t help but ask.
Lulumia rolled her eyes inwardly.
She hadn’t even eaten with Ino much herself; if she went with Sander now, and Ino happened to be the possessive type, she’d be doomed.
Not knowing Sander’s position, Lulumia played it safe and found an excuse, lowering her gaze and speaking shyly.
“Grandfather Sander, I promised my classmates I’d have lunch with them today…”
“Well, that’s that, then.”
Losing his conversation partner, Sander looked regretful, but Lulumia’s use of Grandfather brought him back into the elder role, and he smiled kindly.
“Let’s talk again when we have time.”
“Mm, goodbye, Grandfather Sander.”
Lulumia bowed politely.
Sander didn’t linger, but left the workshop with a few rolled-up papers, visibly pleased.
Lulumia calmly closed the door.
Then, her expression collapsed in an instant.
A scheming grin spread across her face as she leaped onto the bed, hugging her pillow and excitedly thrashing her dragon tail around like a spinning top.
Mission accomplished!
She still didn’t know what position Sander held, but since she could address “Ino” by name instead of as “Lady Ino,” his status had to be quite high.
With someone like this as her Teacher, all her actions within the church would have a guide—she no longer had to worry about accidentally offending the sensitive nerves of the clergy with a careless move.
After rolling around excitedly on the bed for a good while, Lulumia finally calmed down.
She sat up, straightened her messy clothes, her little face flushed and panting.
With Sander helping her solve the character spacing problem, she could move on to the next step.
Attracting investment.
Finding a patron.
Making money from printing sacred texts wouldn’t work, so she could only start with newspapers. However, newspapers were a sensitive business.
It would be hard to avoid touching the interests of certain people or even entire power groups, so having the backing of a great family was essential.
So, in the entire Ounheim Kingdom, who was someone she could get in touch with, someone with enough status that others wouldn’t dare provoke them?
Lulumia blinked. An answer floated up in her mind.
「Lost Title: 『Little Hardworker』」
「Gained Titles: 『Scheming Young Dragon』, 『Further Advanced Hardworker』, 『Deceiver*3』」
「Positive Karma: 19↑ (Should have increased by 4, but due to deceitful behavior, only increased by 2)」