Chapter 183 - My Hands Are Tied (1/2)

Abby and Katie both screamed and punched the air in excitement as soon as the merchants left. The demand for board games was high after selling out in the first city they hit on their way out of the mountains.

Al, who was in the middle of feeding Aza some pureed carrots, found it amusing. ”I guess you're getting your piano after all. You better get to work on those engraving plates. They'll be back in three weeks.”

That sobered them instantly. Abby hastily bid everyone goodbye as she rushed out to the printing office.

Tahvo was at his training session with two other office workers so she had to start making the plates with Janna's help. It was a bit more difficult with less people, especially since most of the remaining workers were in the middle of coloring ill.u.s.trations.

”We need more people,” she muttered under her breath, fervently wishing that this village was larger or that some of the younger children could grow up faster and join the workforce.

”This won't last forever,” Janna reassured her. ”It is only until the Warriors go to Raisha. Then everything will resume as normal.”

Oh. She had nearly forgotten they would be leaving at the beginning of the summer. They had already been here a few months and the remaining time was ticking away.

Raisha wasn't nearly as far as Shibatsu had been…it was still possible to visit…but it would be much more difficult during the winter months. Even Al made it out there much less often when the snow was high.

At the very least Abby and Blaise would be able to exchange letters when Al did his usual visits. That was better than nothing but the prospect still made her heart sink. Seeing him had become an integral part of her day.

===

It was a hectic scramble to meet the deadline but the printing office managed to produce over a hundred copies total of Monopoly, Yahtzee, Sorry, and checkers. Instruction sheets on how to play were included with each one.

Each one sold for seven to ten copper pieces. All of them together would be enough to buy a piano and a few violins and tambourines.

Abby was ready to drop dead afterward because they had to continue production of children's books at the same time despite their terrible understaffing problem. As soon as they were finished she headed to the bakery to buy herself a treat.

Eyeing the wares in the display case, she debated between a chocolate cupcake and a powdered doughnut. In the end Sia laughed and told her to take both for the price of one. She was in an excellent mood because her oldest daughter had just been proposed to by the blacksmith's son.

”Congratulations! Canaria will make a beautiful bride,” Abby said with a wide smile.

Sia hummed contentedly. ”She will, won't she? Yuno is a good looking boy as well so I'll have the most adorable grandchildren.”

Weddings weren't a terribly common occurrence here due to the population being so small so they were worth getting excited about. The last one had happened before Abby moved here over in Raisha.