SHC19_C19 If It Doesn’t Exist, Make It!

Chapter 19: If It Doesn’t Exist, Make It!







…For some reason, I seem to be worrying the Head Chef.
Maybe he’s thinking, “Is it okay for a child to be educating another child?” Yeah, I’d wonder too.

But I can’t take back what I already said.
Besides, Romanov-sensei had no intention of teaching Regulus-kun himself. That leaves me.

Sure enough, he only gives advice when I ask but otherwise doesn’t help plan Regulus’s lessons at all.

But what can you teach a three-year-old?

At the very least, literacy and basic arithmetic are a must. So, we should start with simple stories and counting exercises.


After lunch and Regulus-kun’s early nap, I went digging around my room.


It had a bed, chest, desk, and lamp—but nothing that looked like a toy.
It wasn’t that I packed everything away after getting my past life memories. It was already like this when I woke up.


So I can’t tell if there are no toys in this world or if I just never had any.


There’s no origami, sure—I figured that out early. But it never occurred to me to check for children’s books…

So, I asked Rottenmeier-san:


“Are there any books for children?”


“Books… for children, sir?”

“Yes. Ones for teaching reading or counting.”

She looked unsure.

“Young Master, such things are rather uncommon. Ordinary folk rarely learn reading or math.”

“Wha—!?”

“They can get by buying things at market or reading their names… but anything more than that is only taught to merchant families or nobles.”

“That sounds like… a problem…”

“Some nobles and churches offer basic lessons as charity, but…”

“I take it Kikunoi doesn’t?”

“Correct.”

I really didn’t need to know that…

It’s definitely something we’ll need to address, but five-year-old me has no power there.
For now, I had to focus on Regulus’s curriculum.

“If I can successfully teach Regulus, we could use that model to build early childhood education. But first, Father needs to work hard to fund it.”


Honestly, maybe the reason Kikunoi is failing despite its popularity with adventurers is because no one understands what’s going on—due to a lack of education.

That’s terrifying.

But again, I’m five. Let’s leave the adult problems to the adults.
My job is to keep peace at home.

“So, no kids’ books, huh?”

“That’s correct. Though noble children usually get handmade textbooks from their tutors before entering school.”

“Wait… I didn’t get any textbooks.”

“Romanov-sensei said you’re already beyond pre-school level in reading and math. You read embroidery patterns and use a ruler to measure fabric.”

“But…”

“He said teaching you the basics would be a waste. You’d benefit more from learning about magic systems and world history.”

So that’s why he called me “interesting.”

Yeah, I guess I am kind of cheating with this past-life knowledge…

Still, what’s done is done. And someone is relying on me now.

So—

No picture books. No early learning tools. That means no educational toys either.

“If it doesn’t exist… I’ll make it myself!”

“Hototogisu…?”

Rottenmeier-san looked confused, but I didn’t have time to explain.
I bowed and hurried back to my room, pulled out my craft supplies, and got to work.

Using felt, buttons, stuffing, thick paper, needle and thread—and the help of my “Blue Hands” skill—I quickly cut out matching sets of animals: foxes, raccoons, rabbits.

Each had one piece with a button sewn on and one without, but with their names embroidered: “Tanuki,” “Kitsune,” and “Usagi.”

Then I stitched the pieces together with some stuffing to make little plush toys.

Once I had three, I was already tired. Even with skill buffs, there’s only so much these tiny hands can do.

I really need a sewing machine.

Next, I stitched three buttonholes into a large felt sheet, made sure the plushies fit, and confirmed the concept worked.

And with that, the prototype was done.

A few more pages like that, sewn together…

“TA-DAAAH! A cloth picture book!”







Whether my impersonation of a certain blue robotic cat was accurate, I’ll never know.

Eunie: Thanks for reading~

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