“Hmm? What’s going on?”
I grabbed Sif, who was pulling a cart down to the workshop’s tunnel, and quickly told her what items I needed to buy. Sif looked at me with puzzled eyes, questioning my unusual request.
“What’s up? You’re placing such an order?”
“It’s something I need. Hurry and go get it. You can use the black market if you need to—”
I handed Sif the pouch of money I had prepared for her, and when she saw the gold coins, her eyes widened in surprise as she opened it.
“H-how much is this…?”
“It’s very important, so it’s your responsibility. Got it?”
“No, no, no, no, no… You’re really giving me this much? What if I embezzle it or something?”
The girl who loves money really can’t handle too much of it!
“It’s for the saint, you understand what that means, right?”
With those words, Sif nodded her head vigorously. She probably wouldn’t dare to steal money related to the saint. After all, I’m not clueless about where her siblings live.
“Alright, okay. I was just joking!”
Since it was something Karina would use, I needed to use the best materials. If I used lousy ones and Karina ended up with a skin problem, I might face the wrath of Renny’s fierce glare—or worse, a punch!
I didn’t have a ton of money on hand, but I was planning to officially sell prosthetic arms soon, so I would have enough capital. Thus, I wasn’t planning to be stingy. If I’m spending, I might as well spend big!
“…Well, I can see why. I thought you had suddenly become interested in fashion or something.”
“Glad you understand. How long will it take?”
“Um… If I enter the black market right away, the earliest would be morning?”
That’s not too bad. If it got too late, I would have to go along and buy it quickly.
“Go get it right away.”
“What about the reward?”
“5 gold coins.”
“Oh, that’s quite generous! But I’ve never bought expensive materials, so I might not pick the right ones. What if I bring back something a bit subpar and you don’t give me the full reward?”
“Just make sure you get the right stuff. Bring back enough.”
“Leave it to me!”
Sif immediately dashed off with the cart, moving just as quickly as when she came in. I took a brief glance at the pile of goods she had stacked to one side and began moving them one by one into the workshop.
———————–
“Eh? Aren’t we going together today?”
“I have work to do.”
“Aww. I wanted to go with you…”
Millia looked up at me with a mixed expression of longing, as if she was disappointed that I wouldn’t be able to join them today. Elisa, who was standing next to her, seemed a bit disappointed as well, but neither of them tried to hold me back. They both probably knew why I wasn’t going on an escort mission today.
“W-well, take care…”
“Johann. I’ll be back.”
“Let’s meet for dinner.”
With Karina’s weak farewell, the three of them disappeared beyond the huge door of Yeomyeong-gwan. I stared at the closed door for a moment before turning to head towards the workshop. Inside, Sif had already started piling various fabrics and silks in one corner.
“Hey, you’re back?”
“Yeah. Hmm…”
To be honest, I had no experience handling silk myself, so I would need to work through quite a few trial and errors, but I had done some sewing with the clothes I had found on the deserted island. Though all I’d done was patch up some torn fabric.
Still, experience is experience, right?
“This should be enough.”
I took 5 gold coins from the thin pouch Sif had given me and placed them in the palm of her small hand.
“Gold coins, gold coins~”
As if trying to verify that the coins were real, Sif held one up to the sunlight streaming through the bars. The gold coin sparkled, scattering golden light.
“Gold coins really are pretty.”
“Is that so?”
“That’s why the rich…”
Why the glare? I contemplated giving Sif a good whack on the head, but then I lowered my hand. I can’t just hit her every time she says something like that. If I did, she’d probably have a V-line on her forehead by now.
“D-did you just think something strange?”
“I never thought such a thing.”
“I just got a chill down my spine…”
“Must be your imagination.”
“R-right?”
Sif, knowing full well that an employee shouldn’t question their employer, forced a nod in response to my words. I glanced at her and then began sorting the fabrics.
I set aside any that were damaged or seemed problematic, checking the texture as I felt the edges of the fabric. It wasn’t a very difficult task, but it took me over an hour to finish sorting everything due to the sheer variety.
Once I completed the sorting, I turned to Sif, who was quietly watching me work without going back to her own tasks.
“Why are you still here?”
“Um, I figured there’d be a way to make some money from this?”
What was she sniffing for? As if to answer my puzzled gaze, Sif pointed at the fabrics with her finger.
“I know how to sew a bit. What do you think?”
“Hmm…”
“I used to make a living sewing for hire, you know. I did that for about three years, so I’m better than nothing. Besides, you don’t care much about design, right?”
“I do care.”
“From what I’ve seen of your past work, it doesn’t seem like you valued design very much?”
“Simple is best. Didn’t you know?”
“What is that, some foreign language?”
Does she not understand? I’m not sure if it’s that English doesn’t translate well for her or if she just doesn’t get it, but Sif seemed confused. Wait, have I not used any foreign words at all? It might be worth experimenting next time I get the chance.
Understanding my traits and skills in my status window is a crucial task.
For now, I’ll have to push that thought to the back of my mind.
“Guess it’s fine if you don’t understand.”
“It’s bland… Anyway, I’m making accessories for women, so don’t you think there should be a woman’s opinion?”
Sif inched closer to me, looking up with sparkling eyes, as if she’d found a way to make some money.
While looking up at me, she kept glancing at the pouch of gold coins that were casually placed on the table. It seemed she was quite eager for some extra income.
Initially, I intended to ask Ashley about this… But maybe I should try hiring her for now.
I was curious about her three-year sewing skills, and if I made something subpar for Karina, there would be chaos, so having a fellow woman’s input would be better. Since Sif’s suggestion seemed reasonable, I decided without hesitation to give her an extra reward.
“Alright. I’ll provide an additional payment, so help me make a veil.”
“Fufu, just trust me!”
The joy of receiving more money made Sif’s tail waggle happily.
———————–
Veil.
“Johann, how much longer are you planning to make?”
“Until something good comes out.”
Since I had never made a veil before, I expected there would be countless trial and errors.
What color would be good, how long should it be, what kind of fit would be comfortable, what fabric wouldn’t obstruct vision, what design should I go for…
There were countless problems, so I constantly put veils on Sif’s head, checking each one individually. The ones I thought were okay went to the left, and those I deemed not right went to the other side.
We had been doing that simple task for four hours.
“This looks good, doesn’t it? If you sew it a bit tighter, it should be nice.”
“Put it on the left.”
“This one… doesn’t feel quite right? It feels more like a bag for a prisoner before execution rather than a veil. Is this even a veil?”
“Right side.”
“This one feels a little scratchy—”
“Right side.”
“Um… this one looks like something the executioner could wear too?”
“Right side.”
Even while sorting, my hands never stopped. I had to keep making veils while getting Sif’s approval. Some maids were also supposed to come and help out after lunch.
“Johann, how about we eat something now?”
Is it that time already? I turned my head to look at the window, and seeing that the sun hadn’t moved much, it seemed to be around noon. I quietly placed the veil I had been working on back on the workbench and stretched my arms.
Sif quickly swept up all the leftover scraps into the incinerator we’d made earlier. After repeating that process a few times, the chaotic workshop became somewhat tidier.
“Finally, it’s time for lunch~”
“You must’ve been pretty hungry.”
“Of course! I barely had some leftover bread for breakfast today!”
“With the amount of money you’ve made, you could’ve bought a decent breakfast—”
“Once you start spending big, it’s hard to go back!”
It was hard to believe that Sif was saying such surprisingly wise words when she was so obsessed with money.
“Is that so?”
“I don’t know how long I can keep this job… If I want to achieve my goal, I need to save a ton of money.”
“Goal?”
That was a topic I hadn’t heard before.
“Hmm~ if you want to know, how about 1 gold coin as an additional payment?”
“No thanks.”
“Tch.”
Sif genuinely seemed disappointed, but I had no intention of asking her. For some reason, I had a feeling that if I did, it would be irreversible.
I didn’t want to pile on another problem when I already had a mountain of issues stacked up.
“…Today for lunch, it’s chicken steak, they say.”
“Oh.”
I awkwardly changed the subject and opened the workshop door. Sif hummed a tune as if nothing had happened, trailing behind me.
After eating, it was back to work.
I closed the workshop door.
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