The Italian Restaurant’s Interior Decoration

The Italian Restaurant’s Interior Decoration

The Italian Restaurant’s Interior Decoration

“Benno, when do you think you’ll be able to take me to an ink workshop?” I wanted to try making ink before winter came, and I wanted to do research at an ink workshop before starting anything. I stopped by Benno’s store on my way to the temple to ask about this, only for him to shake his head.

“The ink can wait. Construction on the restaurant should be done soon. I want to talk about the decoration a bit more,” Benno said. “The outside of the restaurant’s all finished. The interior comes next and I want to hear about what kinda tapestries, art, and so on are used in the nobility’s section of the temple. Bring Fran with you, no matter what.”

Benno’s tone made it sound like he wanted Fran’s opinion first and foremost, with me just being an afterthought. I couldn’t blame him; I wasn’t particularly well versed on what kind of interior decoration nobles liked.

Suddenly, it hit me—I had another attendant who was probably well-informed about decoration and aesthetics. “Benno, should I bring my new attendant to talk about decoration? Her name’s Rosina and she’s a gray shrine maiden who was especially favored by an art-loving noble, to the point that she had an upbringing more privileged than a lot of laynobles. I’m sure she’ll be able to provide the kind of perspective a noble woman would have.”

Fran had been educated by the High Priest and knew much about the nobility’s proclivities, but suffered from a lack of flexibility. The High Priest himself had a tendency to dislike the unnecessary, his mindset embodied by the phrase simple is best. In contrast, Rosina had been showered in the culture of an art-loving shrine maiden. She had a playful air to her tastes and had a knack for presentation. The number of flowers in my chambers had grown ever since she arrived, and they were becoming increasingly presentable to visitors.

“Sounds good. I’ll bring a carriage to the temple tomorrow afternoon and we can go check out the restaurant. I’m gonna be sending Hugo there too, so do something about tomorrow’s food with whoever’s left.”

It hurt that he completely ignored my ink problems, but I was glad the restaurant was finally getting finished. Lutz and I headed to the temple, chatting excitedly before arriving and telling everyone our plans for tomorrow.

“Benno will be sending a carriage tomorrow afternoon so that I might visit his restaurant. Fran, Rosina, would you be so kind as to accompany me?”

“Of course.”

“Furthermore, he would like Hugo to see the restaurant’s kitchen. Please give him tomorrow off and direct him to the Gilberta Company. Will the new chef be fine on his own? Todd, I believe?”

“I believe he will be fine, with Ella’s assistance.”

I conveyed the plans to the chefs through Fran. Todd seemed uneasy, but I figured he could manage since Hugo had been fine with just Ella up until now.

The next day, after lunch, I had Fran and Rosina change into their outside clothes while Delia helped me take off my blue robe and get me into my long-sleeved, noble-looking blouse. Given that Hugo would be at the restaurant, I needed to dress and act like a noble.

“I wish I could go too. Geez! I’m always the one left behind.”

“My apologies, Delia. I need Rosina’s informed opinion this time.” I tried to appease Delia as best I could while she helped me prepare with a vexed look in her eyes. Bringing Delia to the restaurant wasn’t in the cards, since I didn’t know just how much she would tell the High Bishop. Not to mention that Delia seemed to be conveniently forgetting that she was always left behind since she didn’t want to go to the orphanage and she would rather hone her skills than go to the forest, but oh well.

“Perhaps I will need to prepare a reward for your service in minding my chambers while I’m absent,” I said meaningfully, before heading to the carriage Benno had prepared with Fran and Rosina.

Fran was wearing his normal brown outfit, while Rosina was wearing a moss-green dress with a dark-green bodice covered in lined embroidery. It matched her wavy chestnut hair perfectly, and any way you looked at her, she was the model image of a rich young lady. I complimented her and she gave an embarrassed curtsy, saying I praised her too much. ...She acts super cute even when embarrassed. Can I mimic that? No, definitely not.

During the carriage ride, I explained to Rosina what the Italian restaurant was and what our job would be. “We want the Italian restaurant to feel like an eatery for nobles. Our intended demographic is the rich owners of large stores, so the interior decoration needs to be classy. I would like to hear your and Fran’s opinions on it, with the understanding that it should be similar to a dining hall nobles would use.”

“May I think of it as if I were decorating Sister Christine’s room?” asked Rosina, and I nodded. I asked Fran to think of it like he was decorating for the High Priest or the High Bishop.

“In that case, please take care not to provide any opinions of your own,” Fran warned. “Hugo will be there, and it would be best if you spoke through us.”

Things always got heated and foul-mouthed when Benno and I had business discussions. It seemed I would need to write my thoughts on my diptych today. ...I really don’t want to become a noble girl. They don’t even get to talk when they want to.

The bouncing, shaking carriage finally reached the restaurant. The outside construction had indeed been finished, and we found Lutz waiting for us at the entrance. I had to act like a noble, and he had to act like a merchant apprentice doing business with a noble. We both kept our backs straight and our eyes level. The fact that we didn’t just grin at each other was commendable, if you asked me.

“Thank you for graciously accepting our invitation, Sister Myne.” Lutz and I finished our farcical greetings, then stepped past the large, ornately carved wooden doors into the restaurant. Inside was a smallish hall that resembled the first floor of my chambers.

“This is the reception and waiting area. To the left is the kitchen and to the right is the dining hall,” explained Lutz while pointing to the left and right. The right side of the hallway had a rectangular opening in it, which I could imagine would be the future location of a door. Behind it was Benno, who came this way after noticing us.

“Thank you for coming, Sister Myne. This is the restaurant’s dining hall.” Benno also greeted me politely, as he would with a noble. The dining hall seemed to be based on my orphanage director chambers, since that was the noble abode he was most familiar with, but the result was an overwhelmingly white and featureless design.

“I intend to run a wainscot along the walls, but the one I ordered with fanciful reliefs carved into it has not yet been completed. It seems to be taking some time to finish.”

Unable to reply, I wrote “delivery date of wainscot” into my diptych.

“I have already decided on the wainscot and display shelves, but I do not know what art to display on the shelves. Sister Myne, I would be extremely grateful to hear your thoughts on what tapestries, art, sculptures, plants, and so on I should buy, as well as how to arrange them.” Despite saying he wanted to hear my thoughts, Benno looked straight at Fran and Rosina.

“What kind of display shelves do you have in mind?” asked Fran

“The contents of the shelves will depend on their height, width, and color,” added Rosina.

Benno answered their questions in stride. He knew what was popular among nobles since he regularly did business with them. But as expected, Rosina dominated the discussion when it came to art and how to present it. Then Fran would offer cheaper alternatives to her suggestions while gently holding her back when she suggested something too extravagant for a restaurant. Still unable to participate, I just dotted notes down on my diptych while listening to their discussion. An onlooker would surely struggle to tell which of us was the master.