episode_0113

After receiving the frame for the tail and headband from Patrick, I stopped by Hans the Crown Prince’s textile factory to purchase fur on my way back to the atelier.

“Marie, please prepare 5m of each silk and a basket of cotton.”

“Yes!”

“Hoo…”

After asking Marie for the other materials, I sat at the workbench, checked the fur, and let out a light sigh.

Similar to highly elastic materials, fur is one of the trickier materials to handle.

The reason is simply because of the ‘fur’.

To prevent damaging the fur, the use of scissors is limited; to prevent damaging the fur, the knife must only be applied in specific directions; and to prevent damaging the fur, delicate handling is required to neatly cut only the leather.

And in between work, you have to brush it so the fur doesn’t get too tangled or fly around, and you have to keep an eye on the direction of the fur while cutting.

And if you move on to sewing…

You’ll be drained from the feast of fur and thick leather.

Of course, if you ask if this process is difficult, I can say no.

There are countless difficult materials and techniques.

It’s just annoying.

However, that annoying thing is the hardest thing in the world for me.

I’d rather move my hands in a complex and flashy way…

“Hmm…”

I narrowed my eyes and slowly brushed the fur, examining the condition of the fur and the areas to be cut.

About one animal’s worth should be enough to make one tail and have some left over.

Should I make bracelets out of the small pieces of fur?

Wrists decorated with fluffy fur, a maid striking a cat pose while shouting ‘Shaaa!’…

“Tsk.”

Thinking this wasn’t quite right, I quickly shook my head and dismissed the thought.

It might look good on someone like Emily or Katerina, but the character interpretation doesn’t match with the Battalion Commander.

Unlike the two, who have a fierce or haughty side, the Battalion Commander has a dignified and serious appearance.

It needs to be something like a tiger or, at the very least, a leopard, with a sense of weight and aura.

I put aside the idea of using the leftover fur and put down the brush.

“Sir William, what is this?”

“It’s not fur that’s often used for clothes, is it?”

As I laid the brushed fur on the workbench and straightened it out, Marie and Katerina, who had placed the materials I requested in one corner of the workbench, showed interest in the fur.

“This is a cat… uh… well…”

It occurred to me belatedly.

Is it okay to handle cat fur in front of Marie?

She’s not a perfect cat, but she’s a ‘Myo’in’, isn’t she?

A cat person, isn’t she?

Marie has a strong human element, but among other Myo’in, there were furries with very fluffy fur, unlike Marie.

To exaggerate a bit, they could be called bipedal cats.

But cat fur in front of such a race?

I’m being mindful in many ways.

“Um… Marie, do you have any aversion to certain animal furs? Like cats or tigers…”

“No? I’m not a Myo’in, so why would I care? Does Sir William feel uncomfortable looking at monkey bones?”

“Ah, really? That’s a relief.”

As I cautiously asked Marie while watching her, she shook her head and replied as if it were no big deal.

Unlike my worries, Marie didn’t seem to think much about the cat fur.

Even so, animal skin is the best way to express animals, so I was worried about what to do if I couldn’t use it, but thankfully, that didn’t happen.

As I laid the cat fur on the workbench, grinning, Katerina, who was standing next to Marie, looked at me askance with a dissatisfied expression.

“Sir William, you didn’t ask me if it was okay to use linen or cotton for me, who loves trees, but why are you asking Marie so kindly?”

“…?”

I stared blankly at Katerina, then twisted my lips as if dumbfounded, unable to understand what she was saying.

“…No, you’re not a Mok’in or anything like that, and you don’t have anything in common with trees, so what are you talking about?”

As befits a world with many demi-humans, there were a small number of demi-humans such as tree somethings or grass somethings.

There were Alraunes related to flowers, and Mok’in who looked like trees, but elves did not fall into either category.

They’re just long-eared humans who love nature a bit.

“Hey, my hair color is the same as leaves, you know?”

“Hah, what nonsense is this again?”

I glared at Katerina, who was spouting nonsense while grinning, with half-closed eyes.

“If you want to be treated like a plant that much, should I make a cloth out of your hair right now?”

“Hyaaang~ Save me~”

When I flicked Katerina’s fluttering hair and said that, Katerina pretended to scream and stepped away from me with Marie.

“Ha.”

I chuckled at Katerina, who was in a particularly good mood today and had an increased sense of playfulness, and turned over the fur on the workbench.

_

After diligently touching the fur and silk for a while, I made prototypes of the tail and ears, and made a tail hole in the maid outfit I had secretly taken from home.

The reason I made the prototype first without making the Battalion Commander’s was to check if the detail of the tail hole, which started from my personal desire, was uncomfortable.

“Hmm… good, Katerina!”

After confirming that the tail fit perfectly without any gaps when inserted into the maid outfit, I looked for Katerina, the person who would wear this outfit.

“Yes!”

Katerina, who had been sitting blankly near Adelaide, jumped up from her seat at the sound of her name and answered energetically, approaching me with quick steps.

“What’s the matter?”

“The time has come for you to do your main job for the first time in a while.”

“Main job?”

“Wear this and give me some feedback.”

“Yes, yes! I’ll wear it right now!”

When I held out the maid outfit and tail and asked her to try it on, Katerina smiled brightly and snatched the clothes away as if grabbing them, and quickly left the workshop.

“Hey, hey wait… Aigo.”

I called out to Katerina to catch her because there were still things to explain, but by then Katerina had already disappeared.

She must have been very happy to be a mannequin again after a long time.

I haven’t let her do what she likes so far, I’m sorry…

“Emily.”

“I know.”

It would be difficult to put it on alone without hearing the explanation, so I sent Emily, who had been watching from the side, to Katerina.

And as I was sipping tea to catch my breath for a moment, Katerina and Emily returned to the workshop in less than 5 minutes.

“Sir William! I’ve put it all on!”

Katerina, who came up to me with the cat ear headband on her head, unable to hide her excitement, stood in front of me and slightly lifted the hem of the maid outfit as if showing off, shaking it gently.

The maid outfit is pretty and the ears are well attached, but what I want to see is the tail.

So I nodded roughly and waved my hand around, saying.

“Turn to the side a little, I can’t see the tail.”

“Like this?”

“Yeah, good.”

When Katerina stood at a 45-degree angle and slightly pushed her butt back like a duck, the cat tail protruding from her butt came into view.

The appearance is合格 (goukaku – pass).

The seam was well hidden, and the tail maintained its shape well without drooping down.

It may be different when moving, but at least when standing still, it accurately embodied the appearance of a cat’s tail swaying gently as it walks haughtily.

“Hmm~ good, Katerina, now don’t just stand there, do something.”

“Yes~ Is this okay?”

At my words, Katerina, who had been standing awkwardly, bent her back further and raised her clenched hands to her chest, striking a pose.

She struck a pose of a cat waving its forepaws to grab something.

It’s a movement that a cat-eared girl would naturally do, and it’s cute, but…

What is this supposed to be?

“…What are you doing?”

When I frowned and asked Katerina, Katerina blinked her eyes with a puzzled expression and replied.

“You told me to do something, so I struck a pose.”

“Huh…”

I meant to move around a lot…

Well, let’s just say I saw something good because it was cute, and I scratched my head and gave a new instruction.

“Move around to see if the tail is uncomfortable.”

“Ah~ I understand.”

Katerina smiled as if she had finally realized it, and began to wag her butt and walk around.

“Euhm~ I see…”

Katerina, who was looking at the tail swaying slightly every time she moved, became competitive and hummed, gradually making larger and faster movements.

“Heuup! Hat!”

“Hey, hey stop, stop! That’s enough.”

When she started jumping around the workshop in a dizzying way and shaking her tail wildly, I stopped Katerina.

The tail that had slightly lowered horizontally due to the intense movement.

I looked at the tail and asked Katerina.

“How is it? Is there anything uncomfortable or strange?”

“Overall it’s okay, but it was uncomfortable that the underwear with the tail attached shook too much when I jumped or shook my butt wildly.”

“Hmm no problem.”

“Huh?”

I nodded, listening to the forced criticism with one ear and letting it out with the other.

Where would it not move if you shook it like that?

The fact that it only shakes when you deliberately move it means there’s practically no problem.

Since it’s a ball, they’ll be dancing, but those nobles won’t be twerking or can-canning at the ball.

If the moment comes when they do, then the clothes are not the problem.

What kind of crazy person shakes their butt while someone is waltzing next to them?

“Is there anything else uncomfortable besides that?”

“It feels like cold air is seeping in through the tail hole when I walk.”

“Euhm~ anything else?”

This isn’t a big problem unless you’re walking around outside.

“That’s it.”

“Hmm…”

There are no other problems.

Then all that’s left is to modify the design a little more prettily for the Battalion Commander.

There aren’t many parts to modify, so I should be able to complete it with the clothes by tomorrow or the day after.

“Okay, good, thanks for helping, you can do whatever you want with that outfit.”

“Huh? Really? Thank you!”

I smiled and entrusted the fate of the prototype outfit to Katerina.

And picking up a pencil, I immediately began to draw the design of the product to give to the Battalion Commander couple.

“Heu-heung~”

Things are going smoothly.

A humming sound flowed out naturally, and the pencil felt so light.