episode_0146

Having only taught her two methods of making ties, I gave Elin the main quest of frantically making neckties, and left her alone for about a week.

It might feel like I’m acting like a thug by suddenly abandoning her, but it’s my own kind of teaching method.

The creativity of adolescents transcends imagination, so it’s a period when extraordinary ideas pour out like a cornucopia.

Of course, most of them are unrealistic, but their freshness is so hard to match that the ideas generated at this time often become unique weapons when combined with experience in adulthood.

So, right now, I’m quietly watching Elin try various things on her own, and the moment Elin hits a wall, I’ll give her some advice and help her grow further, that’s the ideal image I wanted to achieve… or so I thought.

For this method to be successful, learners need to face trials and tribulations by being given tasks that are slightly more difficult than their abilities.

The problem is that Elin’s growth and talent far exceeded my expectations.

“Uhm, William-nim…! This time, I, I made it without interlining… I folded it about 5 times for volume and shape retention… How is it…?”

“The tie is too flimsy, and the volume is lacking.”

“Ye, yeah…! The folding… and the fabric were insufficient… Th, thank you… I’ve come up with a solution…!”

“Ahem…”

She was a smart kid who could figure out two or three things when you told her one, and her skills were noticeably improving day by day.

So much so that I judged that she would produce a certain level of quality even in the practice stage, so I allowed her to practice with expensive silk instead of cheap cotton.

You might wonder what’s wrong with Elin doing so well beyond expectations, but just like the saying “too much is as bad as too little,” the problem was that Elin’s enthusiasm was too excessive.

“Elin, stop and take a break for a while.”

“Yesh… Just this one more…”

“You know you’ve said that three times already, right?”

“I’ll be done, real soon…”

“……”

It was so serious that she skipped meals, skipped breaks, and even ignored my and Elizabeth’s orders.

“William, you didn’t do something to Elin, did you?”

“I didn’t.”

“Then why has Elin changed like that?”

“I don’t know, I’m scared too…”

Elizabeth even looked at me like I was human trash, if only for a moment, at her obsessive appearance, as if she were possessed by a ghost.

Was this how Emily felt when she saw me causing trouble with clothes?

I was worried sick that she might collapse.

“William.”

“I know.”

It wouldn’t be right as an elder to just watch a young child overdoing it like that, so after a very brief consideration, Elizabeth and I decided to stop Elin, even if we had to use drastic methods.

“Marie, drag her out.”

“Yes!”

So the method that came out was to subdue Elin with Marie’s meow-meow punch, drag her to the lounge as is, and have someone watch her until she gets enough rest.

“Nya-nyat!”

“Keuek…!”

Marie, who accurately poked a pressure point after hearing my command, grabbed Elin by the scruff of her neck and dragged her off the chair.

Then, she immediately moved to the lounge.

“Plea, please, just this one…! Just this one…!”

“Rest quietly! You’re making my work increase!”

“A, aah! Marie Unniee… Pleaase…! William-nim…! Elizabeth Niim…!”

Elin, who was being dragged like a sack of potatoes, struggled and gave us desperate eyes, but we turned our heads away from Elin and pretended not to see anything.

“An d…!”

A desperate voice cutting off at the same time as the door closes.

“Haa…”

I looked at the door where Elin disappeared and let out a deep sigh.

I wish her enthusiasm would be dampened even just one day sooner…

_

Elin getting addicted to work was the most troubling problem for me recently, but there were a few other problems that bothered me.

“What should I do with these…”

One of them was the problem of how to dispose of the neckties.

Elin churned them out like crazy to practice, and I also made them like crazy to make various neckties, so now there were dozens of neckties piled up in the atelier by type.

It’s ambiguous to sell them to customers because they were made for practice, and it’s a waste to leave them alone, a malignant inventory close to a white elephant.

Originally, I would either dispose of them or leave them in the warehouse indefinitely until someone came to find them.

Fortunately, however, designers and creators like us have a secret recipe for easily handling this kind of malignant inventory.

That is to give them away as gifts.

It might feel a little bad to give away something made for practice as a gift, but you can just call it a ‘beta test’.

You can get rid of the inventory, get feedback, and no one feels bad about being treated specially.

As a result, a world is completed where everyone is not hurt, even though they were given something that was somewhat sloppy.

“Herbert, Fannie, can you come here for a moment?”

“Yes.”

I came up with a very innovative way to dispose of the inventory, so I decided to put it into practice right away, and called Duke Herbert and Duchess Fannie.

Beta testing always starts from the inside.

“What’s going on?”

“Pick one.”

“Pardon?”

“Pick one you like, you have to pick one no matter what.”

“Yes…”

Duke Herbert’s eyes shook as if he had met a peddler at the sudden words to pick one, but the Duke, who quickly grasped the situation, looked at the neckties filling the table with a serious expression.

“They all look like they’re for men, why did you call me?”

“Of course, there are women’s ones too.”

Duchess Fannie, who was pointing at herself with a bewildered expression next to such a Duke, was shown a push bow and a stock tie by picking up a slightly wide cloth in the corner.

A push bow is a necktie that is tied by making a large ribbon shape, and a stock tie is a necktie that crosses the string wrapped around the neck in an x or diamond shape and then fixed with a pin.

“Both are worn when doing active work, or when you don’t have to dress formally.”

That’s because in my previous life, stock ties were often matched with riding clothes, and push bows were more popular among blouses or progressive intellectuals than dresses.

Considering that the cravat was worn mainly by nobles and men, it was only natural.

“Looks good, what’s the name of that outfit?”

“Push bow and stock tie.”

“… Pu, pu what?”

Duchess Fannie, who heard the name of the tie, narrowed her eyes as if asking if it was serious.

“It means cat, so don’t think strangely.”

“Ah, I see…”

For now, the shape of the push bow’s knot is similar to the ribbon that is put on a cat, so it was named push bow, but the truth was beyond that.

When this first appeared, the word push had various other meanings besides cat.

“Is it okay to try them both on?”

“Yeah, instead, try them on and leave various impressions.”

“I understand, thank you.”

Duchess Fannie took the only two ties for women.

Unlike Duke Herbert, who was worried about having too many ties, it was a waste of time to worry about having too few ties.

As I watched Duchess Fannie’s cool and straightforward actions, Duke Herbert, who was looking at the ties seriously and carefully, picked up the tie he had been eyeing and opened his mouth.

“Then I’ll go with this bow tie.”

“Don’t you need anything else? You can pick up more.”

“I can make other things if I need them, so it’s okay.”

“Then well…”

I wanted to tell him to pick up two or three more if possible, but it seemed like I was forcing him too much, so I forcibly swallowed the words that were coming up to my throat.

However, Duchess Fannie, who was carefully looking at the tie that Duke Herbert had picked up, frowned and questioned the Duke’s choice.

“Um? Herbert, aren’t you better off with a normal one because you have a sharp impression? A tie that is long and moderately wide like this, with a striped pattern, would give a more subtle and sophisticated feel.”

“That’s right, I thought about matching my style… but rather than that, the bow tie seems to match your style, Fannie, so I was drawn to this one.”

“……”

“Oh…”

Romantic remarks flowing from Duke Herbert’s mouth.

Duchess Fannie, who had a dumbfounded expression at the unexpected surprise attack, covered her face, which had turned as red as an apple, with her hand and slightly turned her head to the side.

“I, if that’s the reason, then I can’t help it, I’ll try to find clothes that match it this weekend.”

“Yes, I understand, it would be nice to find clothes that suit you too, Fannie.”

Duchess Fannie, who couldn’t keep her hands and eyes still because she was embarrassed, was naturally making an appointment to meet the Duke on the weekend in the meantime.

Both Duke Herbert and Duchess Fannie.

They looked like they were going to have a bland and boring romance, but they were surprisingly having a fresh romance.

In particular, the Duke seemed to have surprisingly romantic tendencies, so he seemed to lead the somewhat stiff Duchess with a soft atmosphere.

It was nice to see the two of them looking natural and friendly, but for some reason I felt jealous.

“If you’ve picked everything, go back.”

So I sent them back to their seats with a grumpy gesture for no reason.

“I understand, I’ll gladly accept this.”

“If you’re thankful, give me good feedback.”

“Yes.”

The two people, who were packing their ties and smiling lightly at me with my lips sticking out, gave their thanks and returned to their seats.

I shook my head from side to side and looked at the ties spread out on the table.

I’ve passed three on to Fannie and Herbert, so now there are about 27 left.

If I exclude the ones that don’t meet the standards, it will be cut in half, but I still had to share them with 6-7 more people.

“Aish~”

I sighed deeply and organized the ties.

Who should I pass the neckties on to next so that it will be rumored that I passed them on well…