episode_0119

Due to Walter’s request that wasn’t quite a request, I installed the stove in the atelier earlier than planned, right as November began.

It’s only a few days earlier at best, but ultimately, I still had to pay a little extra to get it sooner.

Moreover, it wasn’t a stove that used coal or wood as fuel, but one that ran on mana.

One of those expensive stoves that could buy three other stoves.

There’s a fireplace in the atelier, but I was worried about starting a fire in a place full of things that could easily catch fire, so I spent some money.

As expensive as it is, it doesn’t produce soot, the maintenance costs aren’t different from others, and there’s no chance of a carbon monoxide poisoning incident.

However, there was one problem: you had to know how to handle mana to use it.

I thought it would work with the click of a button, but it turned out that a person had to inject a little mana into it.

I could buy a mana stone and solve it easily, but strangely, I feel like that’s a waste.

I keep hesitating with the thought of, ‘It only takes 3 seconds to pour mana into it, shouldn’t I just hire someone?’

“Anyone here know how to handle mana?”

My cheapskate nature kicked in at this strange point, and as soon as I brought in the stove, I started looking for an employee who could handle mana.

Excluding me and Elizabeth, there are seven people, so I lightly asked, assuming that one of them would know.

“I do.”

“We can do it too.”

“”Me too.””

“Why are there so many?”

There were more people who could handle mana than expected.

Everyone except Walter and Elin raised their hands without hesitation?

“You have to be able to turn on a magic lamp for 10 seconds without a mana stone, can everyone do that much?”

“Isn’t that the first thing you learn when you learn mana?”

“That’s true, haha…”

My heart ached.

Even Marie and Adelheid were tilting their heads with expressions that said, ‘Why can’t you do that?’, which hurt even more.

I thought Marie was a comrade, at least…

“But why are you asking that all of a sudden?”

As I was forcing a smile and trembling, hurt by the pure words of the mana spoons, Herbert Duke asked a question.

It was good timing.

Otherwise, an expression like I was eating shit would have burst through my forced smile.

I stopped smiling, turned my head towards the stove, and tapped the top of the stove lightly.

“This thing only works when you inject a little mana, so I was going to decide who would turn it on in the morning.”

“Is there really a need to assign someone to the stove?”

“Since most people seem to know how to handle mana anyway, wouldn’t it be better for whoever comes first to turn it on?”

“Uh… um~ well, yeah, let’s do that.”

I answered awkwardly and nodded.

I should just stop this nonsense and quietly set up a mana stone so that anyone can turn it on…

_

Starting with the installation of the stove, various changes came to the atelier in November.

First of all, the products that customers were looking for changed.

Since our main product is underwear, orders had been centered on underwear until two weeks ago, but as the weather got colder, inquiries about cold-weather items like stoles and shawls, which block out the cold, were increasing.

Stoles and shawls are clothes that we don’t necessarily have to make, so I wondered why they were commissioning them here, but it’s always a good thing to have many customers.

Maybe the stole that Elizabeth wore looked better to others.

Even if it’s the same item, it looks more luxurious when a high-ranking person wears it.

Another piece of news was that Elizabeth would be returning soon.

The news that she would be able to return before His Majesty the Emperor’s birthday is difficult to see as a change in the atelier, but… well, it’s good news.

The employees’ mood has changed for the better, so I thought it would be okay to see it as a change.

Especially Herbert Duke and Fanny Duchess openly liked it.

Although my return has reduced the burden, I invested more than half of my working hours in centurion requests last week, so it wasn’t of much help…

These were changes that I had roughly expected, so I wasn’t that surprised.

The Empire has warm winters, but it still gets cold enough to feel the chill, so it’s not unusual to prepare cold-weather supplies.

Also, Elizabeth’s return was just a matter of when, not whether she would return.

“Young master, another inquiry has come in.”

“Who is it from?”

“Franz Schaus…? Someone named Cactus.”

“Ah… this time it’s the Jungle Cat tribe.”

However, I was a little embarrassed by the sudden surge of inquiries from demi-humans.

You might wonder how I know without reading the letter, but it’s thanks to the Empire’s rough-and-ready demi-human naming system.

If it’s a cat, it’s Cactus, if it’s a rabbit, it’s Lepus, if it’s a tiger, it’s Tigris.

And if it’s a race with very complex tribal relationships, the tribe name is used as a middle name.

It was a severely racist surname, but now it’s too deeply rooted administratively and conventionally to change.

If the exchange between humans and demi-humans were active, it would quickly mix, but even just 100 years ago, marriage with demi-humans was considered a perversion.

It means the very distant future.

“Haa~”

I sighed and accepted the letter that Emily handed me.

There was nothing bad in the letters I had received from demi-humans so far, but there were many articles that were tiring in many ways.

Most of the demi-humans who sent the letters said they sent them after seeing the headbands and tails that the centurion couple wore at the masquerade, and the demi-humans who actively interact with humans are people who are hungry for attention in many ways.

I don’t know if I should say they’re like furries who are looking for a handful of writers and wandering around like hyenas.

They are people who are trying to develop closer exchanges between demi-humans and humans, so they show a suspiciously large amount of interest if they seem friendly to demi-humans.

[… The headband and tail shown by Sir William Henry Howard were truly amazing. It seems that you are very interested in the feline tribes, so our Jungle Cat tribe…]

“……”

Exactly like this.

They didn’t say it outright, but I had been receiving pressure to create new demi-human accessories or clothing for days.

There were also people who listed TMI one after another, hoping that I would give them something that contained the characteristics of their tribe.

Or, like the letter I received from a canine aristocrat yesterday, ‘You did a cat, so how about a dog now?’

A certain tiger aristocrat lady also left a warning: ‘I am very displeased that the cat came out before the tiger. I hope you make the right choice next time.’

“Damn it…”

I didn’t expect to be targeted by suspiciously rich furries…

I was careless because everyone was quiet when I hired demi-human employees.

Who would have expected the masquerade incident to be the trigger?

“It’s a headache…”

Honestly, I don’t dislike this kind of attention.

The problem was how to reply.

If I answer ‘That’s a good idea,’ it seems like I’ll have to make it, if I refuse indirectly by saying ‘I’ll consider it,’ it seems like inquiries will come in until I consider it, and if I answer ‘We prioritize customer requests…’ it seems like they’ll come to visit me directly.

Whichever I choose, I only see a furry future.

I like kemomimi girls, but I only take a bite once in a while, I’m not the type to gobble them up…

“Elizabeth… come back quickly…”

I called out to Elizabeth sadly and slammed my head on the workbench.

I missed Elizabeth so much.

If it was Elizabeth, she would have a brilliant idea to calmly refuse even in this situation, but I don’t have that skill, so I feel like I’m going crazy.

Should I just end this TMI with ‘It was interesting’ this time?

But the jungle cat and just a cat don’t have huge differences in appearance.

There is no difference from a cat with a slim face.

At least jungle cats are diurnal, but how do you express this in clothing?

“Ugh…”

“Young master.”

“A customer? Who?”

I was covering my head and worrying about how to answer this letter, when Emily tapped me on the shoulder.

“Another letter…?”

To my question, which I uttered with a listless voice, Emily shook her head, pointed to the entrance of the workshop, and said.

“No, this time a customer has come.”

“A customer…?”

I become rapidly exhausted by a customer who suddenly appeared without saying they would visit.

I already have a headache because of the flood of letters, but someone who appears without any notice like this, I’m so happy I could die.

I’m so happy that I want to go home already, even though it’s only been 30 minutes since I came to work.

“Ha… so who is it?”

“It seems like a customer who wants to commission something to the atelier… I think you need to see them in person first.”

“I have to see them in person…? Ugh…”

I rubbed my neck and got up from my seat.

What kind of person is it that makes Emily make such a troubled expression…?

Is someone from the Duke’s family starting to cause trouble again?

“I heard you were looking for me…?”

As soon as I left the workshop, what caught my eye was slightly rounded animal ears and long hair with a colorful mix of yellow and black.

And following that, what I saw was a very intense red dress.

I don’t know exactly what race it is, but judging from the color scheme, it’s a leopard, jaguar, or tiger.

“Um…”

I was so flustered by the suddenly appearing demi-human woman that I couldn’t finish my sentence properly and frowned.

“Are you Sir William Henry Howard?”

“… Yes, I am Honorary Knight William Henry Howard.”

“Hmph…”

When I introduced myself a beat late to the demi-human woman’s question, the woman narrowed her eyes and began to examine me one by one.

“When you sent me such an ambiguous letter, I thought you were as cunning as a fox, but you are unexpectedly a man with a decent gaze.”

“……”

Anxiety began to creep up from the tips of my toes at the words ambiguous letter.

“Gulp…”

Still believing that it wouldn’t be such a terrible thing, I swallowed once and mustered up the courage to ask the woman in front of me a question.

“First of all, thank you very much for visiting our atelier, but may I know what brings you here today, Lady?”

“I am Henrietta Maria Tigris, I came here in person so that you can make the right choice.”

Tigris, the right choice…

The letter from a certain overbearing tiger aristocrat lady came to mind, and a chilling feeling ran down my spine.

“Ah…”

I sighed and pressed my temples with my fingers.

I desperately hoped it wasn’t true, but why did she really come…?