episode_0170

“Do you have anything to explain regarding these clothes?”

The question I thought I would receive first, when I was apprehended, came last.

My lips were tingling, wanting to say this and that right away; it seemed the effects of the truth serum were starting to kick in.

Is this why they strung out trivial stories and things that didn’t need to be said?

It’s not strong yet, but if it goes on any longer, I might even bring up the story of my ‘previous life.’

That’s a real heresy, so I’ll be in big trouble if I say it.

The universally accepted rule is that when you die, you go to either heaven or hell to spend an eternally immortal time, but if I say, ‘Actually, I experienced death and was reborn in a new body!’ I’ll be met by a priest who says, ‘Oh, our brother has a very interesting ideology!’ and diligently stacks a tower of firewood.

“Cough…!”

I’m screwed.

I was thinking lightly because I had nothing to hide, but when I came to my senses, the guillotine was right in front of my neck.

I don’t know how quickly the drug will take effect, but it’s dangerous if I drag this out too long.

I need to explain everything very quickly and get out of here.

“First, regarding the reason I started making clothes, I wanted to spread clothes that allow women to enjoy beauty without experiencing discomfort, so I took up needle and thread.”

“Is that why you made obscene outfits?”

“I think there’s room to see it that way, but what exactly is the problem?”

“……”

When I brazenly chose to confront her head-on, a spasm ran across Bishop Bianca’s face, and the atmosphere she exuded slowly cooled.

“William, do you sincerely think there’s nothing wrong with the clothes you’ve made? These obscene and unsightly clothes?”

“Yes, I find it difficult to agree with the word ‘unsightly,’ and I didn’t make clothes for obscene and lewd purposes.”

“Ha! Then you mean you can explain why these unsightly clothes were created, in a way that I can understand and accept?”

“Yes.”

“Good, then let’s examine each of the clothes you’re known to have made.”

A voice with a hint of emotion.

Bishop Bianca, who seemed genuinely displeased, ground her teeth and pointed roughly at the photos.

“The first outfit you designed was for maids, this outfit is very well made. It’s neat, has no exposure, and doesn’t blatantly reveal the figure. The same goes for the outfits for butlers that followed.”

“It’s also my favorite outfit. Because it’s a simple but elegant dress that can make people look beautiful.”

“But the very next outfit you made was this see-through stocking?”

Bishop Bianca tore a black-and-white photo of see-through stockings from the document and thrust it in front of my face.

I slightly moved it aside and met the Bishop’s eyes.

“This is an outfit I made for my sister. I made this special attempt to create stockings to wear in the spring and summer when the weather starts to get warmer.”

“And your sister is said to have used this to seduce men?”

“That’s the result, but if you think about it, it was only in the process of Duke Lennox helping my sister, who had hurt her foot, that the two people’s hearts moved. What’s wrong with falling in love with a man who helped you, and falling in love with a woman who loves you?”

“……”

When I made the stockings for Hayes, I gave them to her for the purpose of ‘confirming’ their feelings rather than ‘seducing.’

It wasn’t about seducing a complete stranger, but about using it to quickly narrow the gap between a man and a woman who already have feelings for each other.

And showing her legs wasn’t something she forced, but something that was inevitably revealed in the process of Duke Lennox helping Hayes, who had sprained her ankle.

What role did the stockings play in this process?

It just gave Hayes courage.

“Then, what was the reason for making the stockings so thin? If it was you, you could have made stockings that were suitable for summer with other materials that didn’t have to be thin.”

“When I made the stockings for my sister, I had no contact with the witches, so instead of new materials, I tried to solve the heat and sweat by making the most of the existing materials.”

“Then, couldn’t you have used a color that was less see-through?”

“Is there a problem with pure white? My sister is still an unmarried virgin, so I chose white to symbolize purity and innocence.”

“But the design is at risk of inciting lasciviousness.”

“That’s right.”

This was an argument that I honestly couldn’t deny.

So I readily admitted it.

Thanks to this, the corners of Bishop Bianca’s lips twitched slightly, but I immediately continued speaking before the Bishop could open her mouth.

“But stockings are underwear. Underwear is inherently at risk of inciting lasciviousness, so should we ban underwear?”

“Using it is a different matter. Either way, it’s true that those stockings were used to seduce men, right?”

“As I said before, it was a minor mishap that happened when my sister hurt her foot. It did bring the two closer, but it didn’t cause any problems in the process of the two meeting. The two are still maintaining their purity, and they are steadily preparing to get married. They are scheduled to have an engagement ceremony in April, and both families are frequently talking to decide on a suitable wedding date. Does Bishop Your Excellency see any problems in this process?”

“Ugh…”

Bishop Bianca frowned and looked at me with displeasure.

She realized that the topic had been slightly twisted while she was talking to me.

The stockings are suspicious, but there’s nothing definite enough to call it a problem.

Hayes and Duke Lennox are, after all, just a minor accident between two men and women who are meeting with the intention of getting married, and that accident is also a healthy romance with a process and result that is not strange.

If she says this is impure and problematic, she will be criticized by numerous public opinions.

“Then, why did you make the other underwear?”

“Girdles were made to replace corsets because I was so sad that corsets were having a negative impact on women’s health. Pantyhose were made to prevent women from being embarrassed by garter belts or stockings sliding down due to vigorous movements, and to make them easier to wear. Babydolls were planned as pajamas for women who sweat a lot, and were made of loose, thin fabric for ventilation. Panties were made to protect the female genitals.”

Other underwear also had defensive logic that I had thought of since I started making clothes.

The reality is that I made them because I wanted to see them, but I explained this at the beginning.

There can be many reasons why I want to see them, and anyway, I didn’t lie.

“Are the underwear explanations sufficient?”

“…There’s room for debate, but it doesn’t seem like there’s a problem.”

In the end, Bishop Bianca backed down on the underwear side.

Suspicious, but that’s all.

It was worth racking my brains to avoid getting caught when I made the clothes.

“Then, why did you make animal ears and tails? Is it to express any religious meaning?”

Bishop Bianca, who took out new documents and photos from the pile of papers, mentioned clothes other than underwear to shift the situation.

“I made them because someone wanted to use them at a masquerade ball. Abandoning human identity is an act that should be guarded against, but since demi-humans are also humans created by God, and a form of human that God has recognized, I don’t think there’s much of a problem.”

“Then, what’s the reason for imitating movements similar to the real thing?”

“That’s just craftsmanship. Since I decided to make it, wouldn’t it be better to make it as close to reality as possible?”

“I see.”

The first animal ears that came out weren’t a very important topic for either me or the Bishop.

A world with demi-humans, unlike my previous life.

Demi-humans are now recognized as humans, so there’s no problem as long as the animal ears don’t contain religious, spiritual symbols and meanings.

“In fact, the most problematic outfit is this ‘bunny girl’ that you recently made. It imitates the shape of an animal, and it’s considered to be made for shameless and obscene purposes. Is there anything wrong with this?”

“No.”

“Then why did you make clothes to wear for obscene purposes? This part could be a very serious problem.”

“I admit that this outfit is highly provocative, but I thought it was more important to stimulate the lust of the Count and Countess to fulfill their duty of procreation and reproduction, so I have committed a sin, I am sorry.”

Bishop Bianca raised her eyebrows and widened her eyes.

“You committed a sin, but there’s a reason? What’s the relationship between shameless attire and the duty of procreation?”

“Countess Tigris hasn’t had a child even after 5 years of marriage to the Count. In addition, the Countess was feeling uneasy in various ways, feeling repulsed by her inability to treat her husband kindly, and the Countess realized that she needed to pursue change herself.”

Because of concepts such as the Seven Deadly Sins and the Seven Heavenly Virtues, people often mistakenly think that desire is bad and good is good, but in reality, it is a complex relationship where it is difficult to distinguish between good and evil.

In the end, what religion warns against is excess.

Expressing desires appropriately in the right direction is rather an encouraged act.

“So the Countess came to me, and I made a bunny girl for such a Countess. To give courage to the Countess who felt embarrassed to express her feelings, and to help her get closer to the Count. Thanks to this, the Countess was able to treat her husband more kindly, and was able to conceive a child after 5 years.”

And the bunny girl is an outfit that Countess Tigris took to have some breeding time with her husband during the breeding season.

How could this be a problem?

Rather, the bunny girl is something I should be praised for.

Because I used my strength for the prosperity and reproduction of mankind.

“Is it a sin for others to wear shameless clothes in order for their wives to form a close relationship with their husbands and to conceive children? If that’s a problem, I’ll gladly become a heretic.”

I finished explaining as much as I could and stared intently at Bishop Bianca with my arms crossed.

“……”

Bishop Bianca didn’t avoid my eyes, but she bit her lip slightly and clenched her fist as if her thoughts had become very complicated.

“William Henry Howard.”

“Yes.”

“Can you swear that you haven’t mixed a single drop of lies in the story you’ve told so far?”

“…? Yes, that’s right.”

“I see, then please wait here for a moment.”

Bishop Bianca, who had fed me the truth serum and asked me a difficult question to understand, got up from her seat with a puzzled expression and left the room.

As the Bishop disappeared and the tension was relieved, my body slumped on the chair like an octopus.

“Hoo…”

I’m going to die for real at this rate…