“The revolution of the textile machine! With improvements to the mana engine, productivity increases more than twofold...”
[Huh?]
In my childhood.
Back when I first went to a banquet, came face-to-face with the Hourglass Legion, and was left in shock, I saw an article in the newspaper and once devised a grand plan.
A grand plan to change the hideous clothes myself.
To that end, I learned sewing and even tried making a few garments with my own hands, but in the end, I gave up on that ambition.
It wasn’t because the results were bad.
There were some clumsy parts, but I was fairly satisfied.
I learned that I had talent in design and sewing, and I also knew that with just a bit more practice, I could turn out better clothes.
But I was afraid.
Of society’s gaze, and of the Church.
I didn’t want to get dragged off for corrupting public morals.
So I gave up.
Believing that, as time passed, I—and my tastes—might change.
[Are you perhaps a eunuch?]
“Fuck.”
But after hearing Mother’s words at the banquet, I fell into deep thought for several days.
Because I realized with certainty that my tastes, which I had believed would change, had not changed at all, and because I learned that, due to my lukewarm attitude on account of finding the clothes uncomfortable, the gazes around me were not kind.
Thanks to that, I felt that I no longer had the luxury of waiting optimistically, and that a radical change was necessary.
Then could I change?
Honestly, I wasn’t confident.
Because I couldn’t, this whole mess had happened.
“......”
I opened the drawer.
A box covered in a pale layer of dust from not having been touched for a long time revealed itself.
Sewing tools I had hidden away when I gave up on the plan, but had kept because I still had lingering attachment.
Most likely, this was my last chance.
If I let this moment pass, I would simply go on arranged marriage meetings and get married according to Mother or Father’s decision.
I was a little against that.
I took out the box and set it on the desk.
If I had no confidence in changing myself, and I hated the way things were going now, then I would change the environment.
I would change those annoying, ugly clothes.
A plan I had dreamed of for a long time, and a plan I had abandoned after colliding with the wall of reality.
The time had come to put it into action.
Society’s gaze? The order led by the Church?
That was no longer any concern of mine.
If I had to keep looking at hourglasses, I would rather do everything I wanted, burn up splendidly, and become a martyr.
“Phew...”
I let out a sigh and opened the box.
If it meant clearing up the misunderstanding that I was a eunuch or gay, I would gladly accept the infamy of being a perverted bastard.
_
Though I had resolved to accept the infamy of being a perverted bastard, I had no intention of starting by making bunny girl outfits or miniskirts.
I didn’t particularly want to bask in the Church’s warm love either. (It was hot.) And even if I did make them, who would wear clothes like that?
You had to start with things that caused less resistance so that bolder things could be accepted later.
There was no point if I died before I could even see the clothes made and worn, so at first, it was best to begin with something I liked that didn’t stand out too much.
As it happened, I knew of one perfect garment that didn’t exist yet, but could be worn without much resistance, so I even skipped my meal and went into designing.
Creeeeak...
As I carefully drew lines on the paper, transferring the image in my head onto it, the door opened with the sound of hinges.
I had been concentrating in just the right mood, but at the sound of the door, it all collapsed like a sandcastle.
“Who is it?”
“Young Master.”
Without taking my eyes off the paper, I moved my pen and called out in an annoyed voice toward the unwelcome guest. Then a woman with a soft yet clear voice called to me.
“Ah!”
A familiar voice I had been waiting for.
I immediately put down the pen and turned around, and there stood a maid with half-lidded eyes in front of the door, holding a basket as large as her own torso.
“Emily, you’re here?”
“Yes. I brought the items you asked for during the day, Young Master.”
“Yeah, thanks. Could you put the basket here beside me?”
“Yes.”
Giving a light nod, Emily moved closer with light steps.
The basket seemed quite heavy, and the way she waddled along was like a penguin, which was cute.
As I watched Emily with a pleased smile, she came beside the desk and put the basket down, then placed a hand on her waist and looked at me with a sullen expression.
“Young Master, may I ask one question?”
“What is it?”
Emily’s slender finger pointed toward the cloth inside the basket.
“Why did you suddenly ask me to bring you fabric?”
“Obviously, because I’m going to make clothes.”
Emily’s brow furrowed.
“Young Master, didn’t you say the exact same thing when you were young?”
“I did.”
“And after studying for a few years, you gave up.”
“That’s also true.”
“And now you’re saying you’re going to make clothes again...?”
“Yeah, this time is different.”
“I’m sure you’d say that.”
Answering sarcastically, Emily stared into my eyes with a gaze full of suspicion.
“Young Master, do you know how much Madam worries about you? These days, she even asks me to take good care of you.”
“She does? She’s been nagging me a lot too.”
“No, are you doing this knowing that?”
“I’m doing this because I know.”
Since Mother was worried about marriage and sociability, I would get rid of the clothes that were causing problems in my love life.
It was a conclusion reached through very reasonable and logical analysis, so I didn’t know what the problem was.
“Haa...”
As I opened my eyes wide and received Emily’s sharp gaze, Emily let out a deep sigh and closed her eyes slightly.
Since Emily knew better than anyone that once I got stubborn, I didn’t give up, she seemed to realize that saying anything more would be a waste of time.
“In that case, is there anything else you need me to do?”
As if she simply wanted to finish her work quickly and leave, Emily’s voice lost its strength as she pressed her left hand to her head and opened her eyes.
“Then can you come closer?”
“Yes.”
Emily shuffled her feet and came close enough that I could reach her if I stretched out my hand, then stopped.
“If possible, stand at attention.”
“...?”
At my following request, Emily looked at me as if finding it suspicious, but still brought the hand she had placed on her waist down flat against the side of her thigh.
“Mm~”
I let out a faint hum and looked Emily over.
It was something I always felt, but while Emily was an excellent maid, her outfit was far too disappointing.
There were no maid uniforms in this world yet, so the clothes maids wore were similar to what country women wore.
If you said maid, then a black one-piece dress with a pure white apron and a hairband was the universal rule, but since that rule wasn’t followed here, I always found it regrettable.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
“Yes?”
I reached toward Emily and slipped my hand between her arm and her waist.
When I grasped her waist like that, my fingers sank in by about one knuckle.
Perhaps because she moved around a lot for various reasons, Emily’s waist had almost no excess flesh and was firm.
“Your waist is really thin. I think it’s gotten even thinner than before. Do you wear a corset—”
“Hieek!”
Emily’s eyes went round like a cat’s, and she flinched in surprise, then shoved my arm away with her hand and began shouting loudly.
“W-wait, Young Master? What are you suddenly doing!”
“Bear with it for a bit. It’s hard to measure your waist.”
“You can’t just grab a woman’s waist like that! Let go! Hurry!”
“Wait just a momen—”
“Eek!”
When I put strength into my grip to calm the struggling Emily, Emily pinched my arm hard.
Her thin, long, womanly nails dug into my skin.
“Aaagh!”
I screamed at the burning pain and stepped back, and Emily, her face dyed bright red, glared at me while breathing roughly.
“I didn’t know you were such a shameless person, Young Master!”
“I told you I wanted to make clothes.”
“What does that have to do with groping my waist?”
“Because I’m giving it to you.”
“Heh......?”
A deflating sound.
Her eyes went round, her lips parted slightly, and Emily looked at me with a dumbfounded expression, her pupils trembling.
Then, about five beats late, an absentminded voice flowed out, breaking the silence.
“Wh-what did you say?”
“I said I’m giving it to you. It’s clothing I want to give you, so I need to know your measurements.”
“Haa—”
Letting out a sigh so deep it seemed like it would pierce through the ground, Emily rubbed her face with both hands, dry-washing it.
“Young Master, you should have said that first. I got the wrong idea for nothing.”
“Ah.”
Because I had been in too much of a hurry, my actions had come before my words.
I had done something I shouldn’t have to an unmarried maiden.
“Sorry about that.”
I gave an awkward smile and apologized to Emily, who was covering her face as if reproaching me.
Then Emily carefully lowered her hands and pouted her lips.
“Be careful next time.”
“Yeah.”
Emily spoke as if nothing had happened, but as if she had not yet calmed down, her face was still bright red and there was a tremor mixed into her voice.
“Then there’s nothing else you need me to do now, right?”
“Can I measure your body?”
“Hah...”
As if the previous commotion had never happened, I shamelessly asked for her waist measurement, and Emily parted her lips slightly in disbelief and let out a short, dry laugh.
“What happens if I say no?”
“Then you’ll have to wear clothes that don’t fit.”
“There’s no guarantee that I’ll wear those clothes, though?”
“You won’t wear them?”
“No.”
“Eek?!”
At the sight of Emily nodding firmly, I was startled.
What do I do?
I thought Emily would obviously agree, but my plan was about to get screwed from the very start.
I could just make the clothes and show Mother, but then it would be missing that final touch...
“Ugh...”
My head grew complicated.
I clasped Emily’s hand tightly in both of mine and looked up at her.
At the sudden contact, Emily’s shoulders twitched.
“Uht...!”
“Hey, is there no way?”
At my earnest request, Emily’s eyes moved about in confusion.
As if her mind was complicated, her lips opened and closed several times.
“...Why does it have to be me?”
A low voice slipped out from between her lips.
Why did it have to be Emily?
That was very simple.
“Because you’re the prettiest.”
Clothes, in the end, were meant to adorn a person, so on a beautiful person, any clothing would feel beautiful.
There was a reason people said the finishing touch of fashion was the face.
“......”
Emily’s eyes, which had been unable to stay still, stopped as they looked into mine.
Then Emily stared fixedly into my eyes, as if she wanted to see past my pupils and into my head.
“Haa~”
A sigh so deep the ground seemed to sink.
As if she had made a decision, Emily placed her hand on her waist and opened her firmly shut lips.
“That... can be done while I’m wearing clothes, right?”
“Huh?”
The corners of my mouth split wide and shot high into the sky.
“I’m asking if you can measure me while I’m wearing clothes.”
“Yeah! Of course!”
“But please finish quickly.”
“Yeah! I’ll finish in no time. I’ll be really quick! Thank you so much, Emily!”
Suppressing the urge to hug her tightly right then and there, I wildly shook Emily’s hand, which I was holding firmly, up and down.
“Do it quickly instead of wasting time like this. I’m embarrassed.”
“Got it!”
Emily wrinkled the bridge of her nose and avoided my gaze.
I let go of her hand and hurriedly searched the box for a measuring tape.