episode_0112

My defense war against the abyss, which started by mistake, fortunately ended in innocence.

It was partly because I explained the reasons diligently, but Emil Lee stepping forward and defending me, saying that I couldn’t have had any impure intentions, played a big role.

“Young Master really asked because he was curious about the tail. I’ve been by Young Master’s side for over 10 years, assisting him, so I know because I’ve spent so much time with him.”

“Well, I know he’s not that kind of person, but still, isn’t it a bit much?”

“That’s true, but I just want to clear up any misunderstandings towards Young Master. He’s absolutely not someone who can express impure intentions to others. He’s a coward who backs down at important moments and is extremely conscious of his surroundings.”

“…Emilie, do you perhaps not like Sir William?”

“I just said the truth, didn’t I?”

“Ah, well, yes…”

There were quite a few barbs in her words, and the gazes around me turned cold, as if they were looking at a fool, but anyway, it was a defense.

And Emilie is entitled to say that much…

“Then, Fanny, please help me…”

Anyway.

Having exchanged a wounded heart for avoiding the abyss, I couldn’t see the tail myself, so I brought in Princess Fanny.

“You just need me to check the tail?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll check it and show it to you in a drawing. Is that okay with Marie, too?”

At first, I was thinking of entrusting her with the design of the root part, but for some reason, it was decided that Princess Fanny would check the ears and tail, and then describe them in a drawing.

“What’s the difference…”

“I think that would be okay.”

“Huh?”

Strangely, Marie readily agreed to that.

I thought it was the same whether I saw it or saw a drawing of it, but it seems the person in question felt differently.

Or maybe she felt it was safe for a coward like me to see it.

“Well… then draw it quickly and show it to me. I need to send it by Friday.”

“Okay.”

But what does the reason matter? What matters is that she gave her permission.

Lest her mind change, as soon as Marie’s permission was given, I sent Princess Fanny and Marie to the lounge.

And I waited for the two of them to create a drawing, while taking over Princess Fanny’s work.

“Sir William, here it is. I drew it in as much detail as possible, so there shouldn’t be any problems referencing it.”

“Thank you everyone. Marie must have been embarrassed, but thank you for helping.”

“P, please don’t remind me of that!”

“Sorry.”

I received the drawing after Princess Fanny and Marie occupied the lounge all morning, and even after finishing lunch, they used it for about 30 minutes more.

I wondered what they were drawing that took so long, but that question was neatly resolved when I saw the drawing.

It was of such excellent quality that it justified the time spent and the confident assurances.

The description of the fur, the angle and fluffiness of the ears, and the inexplicably detailed depiction of the panties were superb.

“Fanny, this, well, isn’t it a bit too lewd?”

“I thought you’d like this side more…”

“No, well… sigh… no, never mind, you worked hard.”

I wondered if it was too explicit, but… well… the more detailed it is, the more helpful it will be when making the clothes.

I glossed over it.

“Haa…”

Now that I’ve received the drawing, it’s time to pour all my attention into the request.

Before starting the drawing, I reconfirmed the elements that must be observed in this request.

First, I will thoroughly adhere to the historical accuracy of the Catfolk; second, the tail and ears must be clearly visible; and lastly, it must look like a servant’s uniform.

Each condition is simple when considered separately.

But when you combine all three, it becomes very difficult.

Especially the tail.

As seen in the previous drawing, the Catfolk’s tail protrudes from a spot slightly lower than the waist and higher than where the butt crack begins.

This is a part where many clothes overlap, whether male or female, so the more realistically you try to depict it, the more troublesome it becomes.

Most of the problems can be solved by lowering the quality, attaching the tail to a crude belt, and wearing it over the clothes, but I don’t like that.

I don’t like extravagance, but I can’t tolerate low quality.

Even if it’s simple, the craftsmanship should be close to perfect, that’s the direction I and our employees are aiming for.

Even if it’s difficult, it’s right to follow that as much as possible.

So, for the perfect tail, the first thing to solve was ‘how to make the tail come to that position?’

There are various methods, but the premise is that the tail must be in that position while being as comfortable as possible.

If it’s a ball, they’ll be dancing, and even though the servant’s uniform is light, it’s not that simple.

Underwear, petticoats, and stocking garters are basically worn under the dress.

Adding accessories that cling to the body on top of this will naturally lead to discomfort.

So, it was better to avoid the direction of adding underwear to the existing clothes.

Among those methods, there is one that doesn’t increase the amount of clothing, but also firmly fixes the tail while being positioned in the right place…

It’s not a suitable method for doing at a ball.

It’s a method that’s only possible when lovers are in a ‘place where they can return to their original state’ alone.

So, it was better to take the direction of modifying the existing underwear.

Among the underwear worn near the waist, there was one that was perfect for modifying for both men and women.

For men, drawers, for women, garters.

If we reinforce the waist part that supports the weight of these, slightly modify the silhouette, and attach the tail, we can create the appearance of a Catfolk’s tail protruding from the buttocks.

Now that we’ve solved the problem of attaching the tail in the right place, it’s time to move on to the next problem.

The next problem is the material to use to make the tail.

Catfolk are larger than cats, so naturally their tails are also large and thick.

If you’re curious about how big they are, think of a leopard’s tail.

Leopards and Catfolk are about the same size.

In concrete terms, the length is about 60cm, and the diameter is about 4cm, excluding the volume of the fur.

If you just want to implement the size of the tail, you can simply sew the leather into a cylinder and fill it with cotton.

But I want a cat tail that stands up straight.

If possible, it would be even better if I could change the shape.

To do that, I need to make a tail that has its center of gravity close to the root, can stand firmly, and is light.

“I need to go see Patrick about this.”

This wasn’t a field I could interfere with.

If Patrick, who will make the skeleton, says it’s possible, I’ll try it, and if he says it’s not, I’ll have to make a tail that stands up straight with a long wire.

The last remaining problem is how to get the tail out over the clothes.

Catfolk prefer clothes with separate tops and bottoms because of the problem of the tail getting caught in the clothes, and in the case of bottoms, they wear clothes with a low waistline or make a hole in the back in most cases.

A very small number of Catfolk wear clothes that hide the tail, but that’s only when they need to protect the tail.

In the case of a butler’s uniform, you can quickly solve the problem by referring to clothes with that tail hole, but the problem is the maid uniform.

The maid uniform is one-piece, and the skirt is also voluminous.

It’s ambiguous to lower the waistline, and it’s also ambiguous to make a tail hole in the right place because of the voluminous skirt.

You might wonder what’s wrong with a voluminous skirt, but if you look closely at the tail of a Catfolk that comes out along the spine, you can see that the angle of the root is slightly drooping.

The problem with a voluminous skirt is that it hides this angle of the tail.

From the standpoint of wanting to perfectly reveal the tail all the way to the root, the voluminous skirt was problematic in many ways.

Personally, I think the volume of the skirt is also an element in the Victorian maid uniform, so I don’t want to kill it, but…

This request is not just for a maid uniform, but for a ‘Catfolk’ maid.

“Kuek…”

If it’s a Catfolk maid, not a human, it’s fair and reasonable to sacrifice the skirt for the tail, so this time I decided to give up my beliefs with tears in my eyes.

“Haa…”

I took a sigh and calmed my troubled heart a little, then looked at the roughly completed drawing.

It looks okay in the drawing, but I don’t know what it will be like when the tail and tail hole are implemented in real life.

Well… when you don’t know, you can solve it quickly by making it first.

“Fanny, I’m going to visit a supplier for a while, so please take care of the atelier in the meantime!”

“Yes, please go comfortably.”

_

The blacksmith’s shop, which I rushed to as if running.

Having faced Patrick after a long time, I skipped the small talk and got straight to the point as soon as we greeted each other.

“Patrick, can you make a snake-like doll skeleton? Core stem? Something that’s thin, light, strong, and flexible? The length is about 60cm.”

“Of course, that’s easier than you think.”

“Then how long does it take to make something like that? Is it possible in a day or two?”

“I can just take out a suitable wire from the warehouse and cut it right now, you know?”

“Huh? Really?”

“Of course.”

The tail skeleton problem, which I thought would be difficult, ended more easily and simply than I thought.

I carefully asked if it wasn’t a difficult request, but Patrick, on the contrary, gave me a cool smile with a ‘what’s that?’ expression.

“What about the weight? It’s not heavy, is it?”

“It’ll be about… 70… maybe a little more, about 100g, the thickness is about 2~3mm.”

“Hmm…”

If you add the weight of the cotton and leather, the tail will be 3~400g?

If it’s about the weight of a bulky wallet or a phone with a case…

It might be doable…

“Then can you make about five of them right now?”

“Wait five minutes.”

Saying that, Patrick, smiling brightly, went into the warehouse, brought a rolled-up wire, stood in front of the machine, pulled the lever a few times, fiddled with the wire, grabbed a bundle, and trotted over.

“Here you go, please check them out.”

“Oh, ooh…”

As if the word “really simple” wasn’t a lie, the feeling I had in mind was implemented from the wire taken out of the warehouse.

“How much is this?”

“Even if you buy the whole bundle, it’ll be about 2 silver?”

“……”

There seem to be about 50 of them, for 2 silver.

In other words, 1 meter of cotton.

It seems similar to the wire used for clothes hangers I saw in my previous life, but I got it at a very cheap price, like finding screws at a hardware store.

“Something, something, huh…”

Was it possible to make such a thin wire so quickly?

“What is it?”

“There’s something…”

It’s hard to explain in words, but the feeling is very subtle.