episode_0068

“As expected, I’m not getting many letters yet.”

“Isn’t it rather few?”

“No, these are letters from around the Imperial Capital, so it’s about what I expected. It’ll only spread throughout the Empire this evening, so the real reaction will start on Monday.”

“Then I can take it easy next week?”

“That’s right.”

Being Friday, only five letters at best arrived at the shop.

Moreover, if you exclude simple inquiries and only count letters with a genuine intent to order, there are only three, so the situation is unfolding as expected.

No.

That’s what I thought.

“L-ladies? You’re too close.”

“Could you please not touch the fourth leg?”

After spending a very quiet and peaceful weekend, what I saw on Monday was a crowd of women swarming around the shop, and the staff being grabbed by those women, unable to move.

“… What is this?”

As soon as Caterina, who was pushing people away with a troubled expression, made eye contact with me, her face lit up, and she raised her hand high, waving it around while shouting loudly.

“Ah! Sir William! Hellooo~!”

“Ah, damn…”

An obvious attempt to attract attention.

“William?”

“Where is he?”

It was very effective, as dozens of women, enchanted by the name William, simultaneously turned their heads, looking around for me.

“Ah! There he is!”

Then, one woman shouted in a bright voice, pointing at me, and the women turned their eyes, blazing with fire, in the direction of her finger.

The sight of dozens of pairs of eyes, mixed with madness and urgency, directed at me was like a scene from a horror movie, sending shivers down my spine and making it hard to breathe.

“……”

“……”

A very brief silence.

I urgently gestured to Emily, who was standing behind me, signaling her to quickly hide behind me.

Even if the possibility is slim, there’s a chance that Emily, a commoner, could be treated roughly. Even if that doesn’t happen, if she gets caught up among those women, it would be difficult to get out unscathed.

“Sir William!”

“I have a question!”

At the same time as Emily, clinging tightly to my back, grabbed my clothes, the young ladies broke the silence and rushed towards me.

“Please calm down for a moment, everyone, and be orderly…!”

“Sir William, are you making underwear this time?”

“Or dresses?”

“Is it perhaps the underwear that was supplied to the Knight Order?”

“What kind of clothes are you making?”

“I’ll answer everything, so please, one at a time…”

“If not clothes, is it cosmetics?”

“Is it possible to order today?”

“What is the servant next to you wearing?”

“Can we also become as beautiful as that elf over there?”

“Ugh…! Please, everyone, calm down!”

Just an inch.

The women, who had come so close that their bodies almost touched each other, started firing questions like baby birds chirping to their mother, glaring at me while spewing out whatever questions they wanted to ask, no matter what I said.

What should I do…

There’s no sign of them calming down.

“Say something…”

Just as the women’s eyes were about to lose focus.

– Clap! Clap! Clap!

A light clapping sound sharply pierced my ears.

As if telling them to focus on herself, the stimulating sound, faintly mixed with mana, made everyone become docile as if possessed by a ghost, and they turned their heads in the direction of the clapping sound.

“What are you all doing?”

There stood Princess Elizabeth with her arms crossed, glaring at us with narrow eyes, wearing a displeased expression.

“This is not the behavior of street vendors. Never lose the dignity that blue blood should have, no matter when or where.”

Her cold voice echoed through the street.

“Ah…”

“Ohoho…”

The women, who had been excited by the princess’s sharp rebuke, instantly calmed down, letting out awkward laughs.

Then, the young lady who seemed to have the highest status bowed her head slightly as a representative and said.

“I’m sorry, I think we got too excited.”

“It’s okay, everyone makes mistakes.”

“Thank you.”

Seeing the women’s docile appearance like lambs, the princess relaxed her expression and gave a benevolent smile.

“For all of you, we also want to hear your stories very quickly, but as you can see, the atelier is not that big. Letting someone in first would mean that others would have to wait on the street, and we can’t talk to you on the street, so we need time to come up with a plan.”

“I see.”

“We lacked consideration.”

Perhaps a little late in realizing their embarrassment, the women wore sheepish expressions and stepped back one by one, clearing the path leading to the atelier.

“Thank you for understanding. We will find a way to talk to you as quickly as possible, so please wait just a little while.”

_

“Is everyone here?”

Having somehow made it inside the atelier, the first thing I did was to check if all the employees were present.

“Yes, you were the last ones to enter.”

“That’s a relief.”

Princess Pani, who had been waiting in the workshop in advance, nodded, informing us that we were the last ones to arrive.

“Haa…”

I rubbed my chest and let out a sigh of relief.

I was quite surprised.

I didn’t expect such a strong reaction, and I underestimated the nobles’ information-gathering abilities.

The only information I put in the advertisement was the shop’s name.

Therefore, I thought that unless someone was watching my every move in real-time, they wouldn’t pay much attention, but I was wrong.

I looked out the window.

The sight of the young ladies and their servants swarming around was intimidating.

“How many people are outside now?”

“There were about fifty when we came in.”

“Fifty…”

My vision went dizzy.

Five letters came, but fifty people came.

If you include maids and servants, it would easily exceed 100.

I couldn’t leave 100 people on the street, so I had to quickly find a place for them to sit.

It would be difficult to rent a place on the same day, but to think positively, it’s still morning.

Tea time is usually in the afternoon, so if I hurry, I might be able to secure a place somehow.

“Herbert!”

“Yes.”

“Go and rent a coffee house right now. Anywhere is fine, as long as it can accommodate at least 100 people.”

“Understood.”

Leaving the rental to Herbert, I turned my gaze to Caterina.

“Elizabeth, do you have a dress that Caterina can wear right now?”

“There’s a spare one in the carriage.”

“Then prepare it so she can wear it at any time.”

“Okay.”

“Emily, where are the mannequin and the underwear that Caterina wore?”

“They’re all in the warehouse.”

“Bring them all out.”

“Yes,”

After instructing Elizabeth and Emily to prepare Caterina, I immediately gestured to Adelheid and Pani.

“How long do you think it will take to make one girdle?”

“If we mobilize all the tailors, we can make one a day.”

“Okay.”

One a day, about five a week, excluding weekends.

Not bad.

“Okay, as soon as it’s ready, Adelheid and Caterina will go with me to the explanation place, and the rest of you wait here, got it?”

“Yes.”

_

“Thank you for waiting until now.”

Having somehow gathered the people in the coffee house I managed to secure, I immediately stepped out in front of them with Caterina.

– Clap clap clap!

Light applause erupted in response to my and Caterina’s greetings.

I counted to three in my mind, the applause died down, and the women waited for me to speak with serious eyes.

“I’m sure you have many questions, but I would appreciate it if you could refrain from asking them until I finish my explanation. If you understand, please nod.”

After confirming that the women had nodded, I smiled softly and continued my explanation.

“Many of you who came after seeing the advertisement probably don’t easily understand what we’re trying to do. Many of you probably don’t understand what ‘the right to be comfortably beautiful’ is.

Those of you who are interested in my actions will remember the interview I did about three months ago, where I expounded on the problems of corsets. This is an extension of that.”

The women became slightly agitated.

Some wore expressions of ‘that’s what I expected,’ as if it matched their expectations, while others frowned with complex expressions, as if it was slightly different from what they had anticipated.

I paused for a moment, waiting for the women to organize their thoughts and feelings, before opening my mouth again.

“We have created new underwear to replace corsets in the last two months, two types of underwear called ‘girdle’ and ‘brassiere.’

To be honest, the underwear we created cannot create a wasp-like or ant-like waist like a corset. Its ability to shape the body is weaker compared to a corset, but compared to a corset, the advantage of our underwear is its mobility.”

I walked over to Caterina, placed the pouch I had been hanging on my waist on the floor, and tapped Caterina’s shoulder.

Then, Caterina straightened her legs and bent only her waist to pick up the pouch on the floor.

“Heet?!”

“Gasp!”

The women, having seen the act of bending over to pick up an object, which would be absolutely impossible to do while wearing a corset, erupted in vehement shouts and sighs.

“It shapes the body without the need for whalebone or hard steel frames, while allowing you to move freely.”

“Don’t lie!”

“Elves have thin waists, so isn’t it possible that she’s not wearing underwear at all?”

“Now that I think about it, it’s a bit suspicious.”

Perhaps the previous movement was too shocking, some of the women stood up abruptly, doubting the existence of the underwear.

I listened to their words one by one, nodded, and then said with a confident smile.

“After my explanation is over, my colleague Caterina will show you all whether she is wearing underwear or not, and how effective the underwear we created is.”

“Can’t she secretly put it on in the middle and come out?”

“Such doubts are certainly reasonable, so Caterina will not move even a single step from here. After I finish the explanation, when I leave, you can examine her as much as you want.”

“……”

The women who had raised questions made sullen expressions and quietly sat down.

“To continue with the explanation, the brassiere is underwear that holds the chest, and the girdle is underwear that holds from the waist to the hips. Rather than being obsessed with a thin waist, we focused on the natural and soft curves that connect the chest to the hips, so we recommend not wearing petticoats.”

After explaining the general concept and purpose, I paused for a moment.

Then, with a slightly gloomy expression, I lowered my gaze to the floor.

“However, there is one problem with our underwear.”

“What is it? What kind of problem is it?”

I held out five fingers, speaking in a depressed voice as if I was sorry.

“We can only accept orders from exactly five people per week.”

The women tilted their heads and frowned at my words.

It was an ordinary number, or rather, a number that could be considered quite large.

But I maintained my gloomy expression and said.

“In principle, it is correct to take orders from those who came first on a first-come, first-served basis, but we have no way of knowing who came first.”

“So, what are you going to do?”

“I’m really, really sorry.”

I gestured to Emily, who was waiting behind me.

Then, Emily approached with a small box and a bundle of papers.

“We will decide the first person to receive an order by lottery.”

“!!”

The women, without exception, widened their eyes like rabbits and lost their words.

In particular, the women who seemed to have high status reacted more strongly.

Of course, they would.

It would be the first time that the decision was made randomly, not by status or amount of money.

I suppressed my laughter and pointed at Emily.

“Those who wish to participate can receive a number tag from the maid here. Now, let’s start with the table in front.”