episode_0180

While teaching the fresh newbies and completing a sample for advertising, I immediately dressed Katerina and headed to the desert, located about 5 hours away from the Imperial Capital.

A desert around the Imperial Capital, which has distinct four seasons, might sound like nonsense, but this desert is not a naturally formed one.

It is a small, artificially created desert, 1km in length and width, that the elite knight orders of our empire created because they wanted to conduct various summer training exercises.

For reference, there is a jungle 5km east of this desert, and my father’s territory had an artificial permafrost area for winter training.

This would have been a massive project costing trillions of won with modern technology, but here, with the help of magic, it could be created for only a few billion won.

An amazing place where you can see jungles and deserts without going far in the middle of winter, and see Arctic landscapes in the middle of summer.

One problem is that it is a military facility, so you can’t just go in.

Who am I?

An honorary imperial knight recognized by His Majesty the Emperor.

If I get proper permission, there is no military facility that an honorary imperial knight cannot enter.

Of course, because it’s a military facility, the number of people who can accompany me is extremely limited, so only two people including myself could enter, but that was enough.

We only needed the desert as a background, so we didn’t have to go too deep.

“Baron William Henry Howard, and your companion, Miss Katerina Fairy, both of your identities have been verified. Only the two of you can enter beyond this fence, so please have the rest of your party wait in the designated area.”

“Okay.”

At the gesture of the knight who had verified our identities, the soldiers removed the obstacles blocking the entrance, creating a gap just wide enough for one person to pass through.

Then, the knight gestured lightly for us to follow him and took the lead, moving towards the gap.

“Wow…”

What unfolded before our eyes as we carefully followed behind was a small desert surrounded by 3m-high walls.

At the same time, the cold that had been pricking our skin instantly disappeared, and a hot air that dried out our noses and skin greeted us.

Even though I know about deserts, it still felt amazing that such a different landscape unfolded just beyond a single entrance.

This is why I wanted to become a wizard…

Looking at something this amazing makes me resent my untalented body just a little.

“To think there’s nothing but sand and gravel… So it’s true that there’s such a terrible place where not a single blade of grass grows.”

“It’s not that there are no plants at all. There are cacti, although they are rare.”

“For plants to live in such a barren place… Nature is truly amazing… By any chance, is that green thing sticking out over there a cactus?”

“Hmm… Sir Matthew, is that plant a cactus?”

“Yes, there aren’t many, but we brought a few and planted them.”

“Hoh…”

Katerina’s eyes sparkled brilliantly at Sir Matthew’s confirmation that it was a real cactus.

“William, would it be alright if I took a closer look?”

“Sorry, but look at it after I take the pictures.”

Unfortunately, the purpose of today is not desert exploration, but photos.

Even if we do other things, we have to do what we need to do.

“Ugh… It’s a plant I’ve never seen before…! Can’t I look at it first and then take pictures?!”

“Nope~”

Katerina stomped her feet and looked up at me with sparkling eyes, but whether she did or not, I stopped near the entrance and started preparing to take pictures.

“As you may have heard in advance, please be careful not to have the outpost visible in the pictures.”

“Well, just in case, I’d like to ask you to check the pictures after the shoot.”

“Yes, I understand.”

While I took out the photo magic tool and found a suitable composition, Sir Matthew gave me a light warning and moved away so as not to be a hindrance.

“Gyaaaak…!”

While finding a suitable background and waiting for our Katerina to change all her clothes, a terrible scream, as if from the underworld, flowed out from the side.

“What’s wrong?”

“William, this is really tight, you know? I’m going to feel suffocated if I don’t break it in for a few weeks.”

“It’s leather, what can you do.”

Katerina, who was trying to stretch the leather even a little by turning her arms this way and that, frowned at my words and pointed to the leather vest fastened with a strap.

“The jacket is fine except for the shoulders, but this vest is really not it. It’s called a vest, but it’s no different from a corset.”

“No, what can I do if your waist is too slender? But if you break it in for a few weeks, it’ll stretch to fit your body perfectly, so please bear with it.”

“I won’t be wearing it until then. I’m going to take it off right after I take the picture.”

“Aish, really…”

I made a bitter expression and looked at Katerina, who had finished putting on her clothes.

Including the denim pants that I deliberately tailored in a skinny jean style for Katerina.

Including the specially tailored jacket and vest.

Including the scarf that was made close to a cravat.

Including the leather leggings that accentuate her figure.

Everything suits her perfectly without lacking anything.

Why does everyone hate it so much…

“No matter how I look at it, it’s pretty…”

“That kind of sylvan elf sensibility doesn’t suit us.”

“Sniff…”

I was hoping that Katerina, being an elf, would understand my sensibility even a little, but it was cleanly annihilated.

Have I ever had something so overwhelmingly disliked without any mixed opinions?

Oh, I think there was one time with pantyhose.

“Tsk…”

Wait a minute.

Are you seriously saying that cowboy outfits are on the same level as pantyhose with the crotch completely exposed?

You’re crossing the line…

“William, let’s take the picture quickly and go back. I feel like I’m going to die from suffocation if I wear this vest any longer.”

“Okay, stand over there.”

“… Here?”

“A little more to the right… Ah, there, there, that’s perfect.”

Katerina, standing in the position I wanted, leaned on one leg and gently placed her hand on the boundary between her hips and waist.

And she stared at the camera with a confident smile.

Ideally, I wanted a pose where she was holding a gun and flicking her hat, or a pose of her riding a horse, but I couldn’t get a gun for the former, and I couldn’t bring a horse into the desert for the latter, so it failed.

The thing stuck in the right-hand pistol holster is not a gun, but a piece of wood that was hastily carved from the back of a broom to look similar.

What’s important to a cowboy is the leather jacket and hat, so it’s not that important of an element.

And this is a slightly different story, but revealing elements related to duels too strongly was problematic in many ways.

It’s not like there are only one or two people who are uncomfortable with duels.

First of all, even His Majesty the Emperor did not like duels very much, and the Church forbade duels unless it was unavoidable.

The unavoidable case mentioned here was ‘when evil heretics insulted God,’ so it was virtually a complete ban.

If you openly imply a duel in this situation, you will get hit from both sides.

If it’s quietly stuck in the holster, you can say it’s for hunting, so it’s safe.

It may feel strange, but it’s like a kitchen knife that is censored the moment a character has murderous intent in a drama.

“Ready to shoot?”

“Yes~”

– Click~!

The shutter sound that is heard about 3 seconds after Katerina’s answer.

“Okay, done!”

After confirming that a quite satisfactory picture was taken, I didn’t take a second picture and sent a signal to Katerina to end it.

“Can I go see the cactus now!?”

“Yes, but you have to come out within 20 minutes.”

“Thank you! Hooray!”

Katerina, who immediately threw off her jacket and loosened the straps of her vest, ran towards the cactus in the distance as soon as she received permission from Sir Matthew to see the cactus.

“I have a hard time understanding sylvan elf sensibilities…”

What’s so great about grass…

_

My cowboy outfit, which I pushed through despite everyone’s worries and opposition, was, to put it bluntly, a complete disaster.

How much of a disaster? So much so that even though I congratulated my mother on her birthday, placed the advertisement, congratulated my father on his birthday, and received the conditions for the dinner dress that Hayes wanted, and it was already mid-February, not a single inquiry about the cowboy outfit had arrived.

Thanks to this, large quantities of leather and denim were becoming dead stock, and after one order of spurs and shoes, there were no more orders, and even what our fresh newbies were practicing was in danger of becoming useless.

“What was the problem? It was a perfect plan…”

Unpopular?

I understand that.

Everyone’s reaction wasn’t good, so I already felt that there would be a bad result.

Dead stock and cleanly blown advertising costs?

That’s nothing either, it’s just a level of deficit conversion for about a month.

“Perfect? It was a mess from start to finish. You didn’t even do proper market research.”

“Still, it’s ridiculous that not a single person is looking for this.”

But the fact that not a single person showed interest was so shocking that it was hard to accept reality.

“That’s… true, I didn’t think it would fail this badly either. I should have stopped when everyone was stopping me.”

“Keuk, why don’t the nobles know the awesomeness of this outfit…”

“I don’t understand your taste for thinking this is awesome. You’ve been normal until now.”

At Elizabeth’s evaluation, which I had heard countless times, I drooped my shoulders and looked at the leather jacket that had been left in one corner.

Why, Empire…

Why can’t you understand the beauty of this outfit…

“Ah…”

Is the Empire not yet ready to accept the wild charm of the central plains…?

“Hing…”

I wanted to cry.

As if I’m ever going to burn my artistic spirit again…