Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Elastic Fabrics from Petroleum
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Polyester, polyurethane, and nylon.
We've all heard of these at least once. What they have in common is that they can be used as fibers, and they're derived from petroleum.
Their emergence brought massive changes to the world of clothing, serving as the key players in creating garments that could be worn without laces, buttons, or belts.
Go check your closet right now—try finding even one piece of clothing without a single percent of synthetic fibers. How many do you think you'll find?
"Say that again... one more time."
I swallowed hard, unable to believe my ears, and directed the question at Lady Fanny.
"I plan to design new clothing using elastomers."
"Whoa..."
Even hearing it again, it was unbelievable.
To fulfill my graduation requirements, I'd taken a liberal arts course on everyday new materials—the highest level of scientific knowledge for a 95% purity humanities student like me—and even I knew this didn't make sense.
Because creating fibers that stretched so smoothly was incredibly difficult.
In my previous life, artificial silk—known as viscose or rayon—was first synthesized from wood around the time X-ray technology emerged. Nylon from petroleum came about thirty years after the Wright brothers' first flight.
Yet here, in a world where airplanes didn't exist and commercial trains were only just becoming widespread, synthetic materials like nylon or polyurethane had suddenly appeared?
This was way too easy.
Wait, Lady Fanny had only said she'd found a new material.
Maybe she'd discovered a new species of rubber tree?
"How did you find it?"
"Witches in the southeastern region recently developed a method of mixing random substances and then using spirits and mana to synthesize new materials."
"And?"
"One witch was playing around with crude oil extracted from the ground using that technique. She discovered that it produced a variety of substances without needing to mix in anything specific."
"......"
I was speechless.
Petrochemical products for real.
The method was so haphazard it left me dumbfounded.
"...What's the principle behind it?"
"Even the witches don't know why. They just said it works when they do it."
"Tsk... no, haa..."
It felt utterly deflating.
On Earth, these were produced in massive factories after tremendous effort. Here, they just snapped their fingers with spirits and mana?
Earth authors... no, since this is a different world, it makes me want to summon the unknown planet's author for this coincidence.
"I have so many questions, but screw the rest—can it be produced stably?"
"That's the problem."
"Oh?"
Hearing there were production issues suddenly put my mind at ease.
As I looked at Lady Fanny with a slightly brighter expression, she continued with a puzzled look.
"They don't know what conditions produce what materials, so they fill huge drums with crude oil and separate whatever comes out. That's why supply is unstable and prices are high."
"How much?"
"About 5 gold for 453.5g."
"What?"
I winced at the horrifying number that reached my ears.
I'd expected it to be expensive, but the weight was off.
Not a clean 100g or 1kg, not even 400g or 450g—it was 453.5g, down to the decimal?
"What the hell is that awful unit?"
"The witches insist on using yards and pounds because of 'tradition'..."
"Ugh..."
I squeezed my eyes shut in disgust.
I'd wondered why witches weren't commonly seen in society, unlike mages.
Now I knew it was for a perfectly valid reason.
Those horrific creatures shouldn't become mainstream.
I opened my eyes, offering deep gratitude to Emperor XII, the Wise King, who had enshrined the yard-pound system as an unofficial unit in the legal code.
Then, drawn by the new material, I closely examined the sketch I'd overlooked earlier.
The drawing on the paper was still just a silhouette, simple for now, but notes beside it detailed its features and concept.
This garment, tentatively named 'Soft Corset,' had three main concepts.
First: No boning whatsoever, to avoid restricting movement and maximize comfort.
Second: Fastened with buttons and hooks.
Finally: A gentler curve than traditional corsets, not cinching the waist harshly but compressing the entire body evenly for smooth lines.
It felt familiar. Lady Fanny had brought something identical to girdles from my past life.
Girdles were longer, fully covering the hips—that was the minor difference—but otherwise, the features matched perfectly.
Girdles, or body shapers, were corrective undergarments that replaced corsets, shaping the abdomen and hips.
The original meaning was a belt without buckles to secure clothing or items, but by the late 19th century, it evolved into undergarments using elastic materials, fastened with hooks, covering hips and waist for correction.
True to their role, they still compressed the body uncomfortably, but far less than metal-framed corsets crushing the frame. Women favored them into the early-to-mid 20th century.
Of course, pantyhose made them obsolete, relegating them to niche status, but that didn't change how girdles had rivaled corsets for decades, even gaining the upper hand.
"Hm..."
I quickly ran the numbers in my head.
A short-sleeve T-shirt weighs about 200g, so 400g could make a girdle the size of a corset with room to spare.
And since it wasn't a full latex suit, blending with cotton or silk would lower the ratio further. Replacing whalebone or steel...
Price-wise, it wasn't burdensome.
We could even make it cheaper.
"Is that material produced as thread?"
"Yes. Precisely, it's produced as liquid, quickly stored in containers, then extruded through syringe-like tools into thin threads that solidify."
Coming as threads made it far more versatile than whalebone.
Blends possible, standalone use, even knitting if needed—though unlikely. Perfect.
"Nice."
I lifted the corners of my mouth into a satisfied smile.
Then, tapping the sketch—which only had silhouette and key points—with my finger, I said,
"I'd like you to develop this concept into a detailed design and plan. Can you do that?"
"What specific details do you want?"
"Which yarns to blend, seam placements, decorations, that sort of thing."
"Hm..."
Lady Fanny let out a groan, showing hesitation.
"Design... I'm not sure if I can do it well. I'm still learning, so I'm worried I'll mess it up."
"Treat it like practice. If it's off, I'll fix it."
"Understood."
Hearing her reply, I turned to Lord Herbert, slumped in defeat in the corner.
"Herbert."
"Yes..."
"Pull yourself together. From now on, help Fanny with her new lingerie designs."
"Pardon? Would I be of any help?"
"Not expecting miracles—just study design together while you're at it."
"Understood..."
Having tossed some work to the lord as well, I finally looked at Lady Elizabeth.
No real expectations, but maybe she'd thought of something.
She glanced at me, lifted her chin slightly, smirked with one corner of her mouth, and brazenly replied,
"I didn't prepare anything. Staring won't make it appear."
"Ah, right..."
Exactly as expected.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Hm..."
After Lord Herbert and Lady Fanny's presentations ended and everyone left, I alone remained in the empty shop, staring at the ceiling as I organized my thoughts.
Thanks to the news of the new material from Lady Fanny, new possibilities had opened for the clothes we'd make going forward.
The major hurdle of lacking stretchy fabrics was solved, so if we gradually shifted societal perceptions, we could make swimsuits, leggings, anything.
No, forget the rest—the fact that I could now make band-top stockings without pantyhose or garter belts thrilled me.
It was just months ago I'd twisted whole silk skeins trying to mimic this. Now, no need; I could produce it directly.
I was certain: the moment nylon stockings hit the market, clothing culture would shake up massively.
Garter belts would no longer be essential, and pairing with girdles would accelerate corsets' decline.
I was so elated I wanted to shower Lady Fanny with incentives right then, but I barely held back.
No matter how happy, handing out bonuses after just five days looked odd.
The shop had only been open five days; if it were my old store after years, I'd have stuffed her pockets on the spot.
"Young Master, it's time to head back."
As I drummed the desk with a pleased smile, Emily approached and urged me, who'd been glued to the shop.
Glancing out the window, the sky had shifted from red to purple.
Any longer, and I'd miss dinner.
"Yeah, alright. Let's go."
I stood from my seat.