Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: Knightly Feedback and Magical Fasteners
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Without even a uniform prototype on hand and no idea what the knights truly thought, I spent the day sketching dress designs until Lady Rachel returned from the knight order.
"The uniform you requested yesterday, along with the knights' opinions."
Materials that would let me finally get to work in earnest were starting to come together, one by one.
"Thank you."
I bowed my head slightly and took the uniform and paper from Lady Rachel. I handed the uniform straight to Emily first, then picked up the paper with the knights' feedback.
"How many knights' opinions is this from?"
"Forty-two."
"A bit more than half, then."
It would have been better if even more had chimed in, but more than half was plenty.
"I didn't have much time, so that was all I could gather."
"No, this is more than enough."
I waved off Lady Rachel's apologetic little head-shake with a smile and unfolded the paper to check its contents.
The paper had been passed around, with each knight writing their own thoughts—the handwriting was round and girlish, stretching out in neat rows.
It was cute, the gap between the dignified, charismatic figures they'd shown yesterday and this fresh, youthful script.
"Heh..."
I chuckled softly as I slowly read down the page.
Stuffy. Uncomfortable. Humiliating to mend the underwear...
"Most of it is negative feelings poured out about the underwear."
"Exactly."
Amid the relentless chain of complaints, the most positive note was something like 'Tightening with the corset improves stamina training efficiency'—and even that was just one lone bright spot among dozens of gripes.
I wonder who wrote that one...
"What about opinions on the new underwear?"
"Those are on the second page."
"Ah."
I flipped to the next sheet.
This part was all in Lady Rachel's handwriting, as if she'd taken down their words herself.
"......"
Unfortunately, it was angular script.
I'd hoped for something a bit more feminine, but this was the first time I'd seen handwriting that screamed rigid propriety even from the letters.
The opinions on new underwear boiled down to three main points.
They wanted something that absorbed sweat well, held the body firmly, and was comfortable.
"Tricky..."
Sweat absorption was just a matter of picking the right fabric, but making it comfortable while gripping the body snugly was a tough challenge even in the modern world.
The tighter it clung, the more uncomfortable it got by nature—so those two were at odds no matter what.
The best was a practical compromise tailored to the purpose.
My job was figuring out how to nail that balance.
"Alright."
Now that I had the knights' needs confirmed, it was time to dive into the work proper.
"Emily."
"Yes, Young Master."
"Get ready to head out. We need to hit the market."
"Understood."
_
The key to underwear with good mobility was using fabric with excellent stretch.
To make it cling snugly without bagging, the trick was sizing it a touch small and letting it stretch out.
Which made it hard to achieve strong elasticity without synthetic fibers—but was it impossible? No, not at all.
The world was vast, and resources plentiful.
Natural materials could replicate it to a decent degree, even if not quite at synthetic levels.
Wool from a special breed of sheep raised in the western Empire was one such example.
In my old world, it was called Merino wool. No idea what they called it here.
This was another world, but since most terms matched up with my previous one, probably the same name.
How much stretch did this wool provide to rival synthetics?
About 20% beyond its original length—nylon-comparable under the right conditions.
So why didn't they use this great stuff?
"Young Master, this wool costs about the same as silk...?"
"Yeah, that's right, so buy it—oh, and grab a bolt of linen too."
"Uh..."
It was expensive.
Unlike nylon derived from petroleum, wool required shearing sheep, so production speed and volume were worlds apart.
Plus, for fabric that stretched well yet stayed durable, you had to blend yarns from different materials, and that wasn't simple tech.
To make blended fabric, you either burned through manpower or ran pricey machines—either way, it all boiled down to money.
Who'd use pricey raw materials that took heavy labor to weave—not for dresses or finery, but for underwear?
Only high nobility would waste premium blended fabric on hidden layers like that.
If it were for show like nobles' outfits, maybe—but no one bragged about their fancy undies.
That's why underwear relied on laces and buttons.
Cheaper and simpler than premium fabrics.
But this time was different.
I had a noble cause.
I was improving knights' clothing for better comfort, boosting the Empire's fighting strength.
Not just burning cash.
"Young Master, just these two fabrics?"
Emily asked, picking up the linen alongside the Merino wool she eyed like some exotic curiosity.
"Yeah. Need more stuff, but nothing else available here."
"Where do we get the rest if not the market?"
"Magic Tower."
"Pardon?"
"Next stop: Magic Tower."
"......"
Emily stared at me like I'd lost my mind, going to the Magic Tower for clothing parts.
I didn't want to go this far either, but no choice.
_
Straight from the market to the Magic Tower.
Lucky it was near the capital—quick trip.
Flashing Heini Bailey's card and metal pass got me past security without a hitch, straight to her lab.
"So nice to see the son of Count Hume again!"
"Pleasure to see you too, Miss Heini. Hope you've been well."
Heini Bailey the mage greeted us energetically, same as ever.
Even healthier complexion than last month—our commission must've gone great for her.
"Of course! Thanks to Countess Hume, my reputation's up and work's pouring in!"
"Glad to hear it."
"So, what brings you here today?"
"I need parts made for some clothing."
The reason I'd dragged myself to the Magic Tower, ignoring Emily's dubious side-eye, was for hooks to secure the underwear and sliders to adjust the shoulder straps.
Laces or buttons sufficed to close and fasten clothes.
But these weren't custom-made. Knights had to don them solo, and easily at that.
Laces were out for convenience; buttons were simple to use and make, but for self-dressing, they needed to be reachable—which was fine for panties, not bras.
Front hooks? Sure, but then sizing adjustments got tricky.
Non-custom meant some give in fit.
Hence bras had back hooks despite solo wear, and multiples in three rows for length tweaks even if one seemed enough.
Sliders were those figure-eight rings for strap adjustments.
Like on backpack or rifle straps.
"Could you make these?"
I pulled a paper from my pocket and handed it to Miss Heini.
She snatched it up, eyed it thoughtfully, then spoke.
"Shape's no problem. Rings that size are easy, but hooks might be tricky—they're too thin."
"2mm too thin after all?"
"Not impossible, just time-consuming."
"How long?"
"Hmm..."
She rolled her eyes upward with a faint groan, answering vaguely.
"No machines, so 10 minutes each."
"That's fine."
"How many? Tiny things like this, you'll need heaps."
"10 hooks, 4 sliders."
"Just that?"
She frowned at me.
"Hard to take a commission for so few—hundreds maybe, but..."
She trailed off, hinting refusal.
I'd expected it. Smiling, I stepped closer.
Glancing around, I leaned to her ear and whispered just for her.
"Can't say details, but I'm handling a task on orders from His Highness the Crown Prince."
"Crown...!"
"Shh!"
I pressed a finger to my lips, signaling her to hush as she nearly yelped.
She clamped her mouth with both hands, eyes wide, nodding furiously.
"If this goes well, we could mass-produce these parts by the dozens or hundreds—or commission machines to make them."
"...!"
"Even if not, your parts might catch His Highness's eye."
"Gasp!"
Rare chance to show her work to the Empire's number two—she trembled, shoulders shaking, nearly hyperventilating.
"So, Miss Heini? Suddenly interested in this commission?"
"...!"
She nodded like mad.
"By when can you have them?"
She held up two fingers.
"Two days? That work...?"
She shook her head.
"Two hours is plenty! Wait here—I'll make them now!"
"Uh... okay. What about payment..."
Before money came up, she spun and dashed deep into the lab.
"Wow."
I stared blankly at her vanishing figure—or the spot she'd left—murmuring in awe.
His Highness the Crown Prince effect is killer.