Chapter 64
Chapter 64
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: Design Debates and Forest Photoshoot
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The sewing process, which I had expected to hit some snags, flowed more smoothly than anticipated.
Adelaide's touch meant speeds picked up noticeably, and accuracy improved right alongside it.
The unexpected snag came over what to dress Caterina in.
The two hashing out the outfit proved far more stubborn than imagined, their differences refusing to budge.
"The dress has to be green."
"That works."
They'd smoothly agreed up to putting her in a light green dress.
The mood had been perfectly harmonious right up until that point.
"We need to evoke the feel of a mature woman overall—serene, dignified, elegant, like someone in her twenties or thirties."
"Hmm... Lady, shouldn't it give off the vibe of a fresh young debutante in high society?"
"Corsets' main customers are women in their twenties and thirties, aren't they?"
"Isn't the first set of underwear the most crucial? We have to hook them from puberty to lock in the next thirty years."
From there, their core concepts started clashing.
"To draw the eye, we need a bit of leg exposed."
"Lord, remember we're promoting underwear here? Shouldn't we emphasize the upper body instead?"
"But isn't grabbing attention from the start the hard part?"
Where to expose.
"Wouldn't covering the forehead be better?"
"The forehead needs to be shown."
Even hairstyles.
They clashed on everything to the point where I wondered if they were just opposing for the sake of it.
"Lady, no matter how I look at it, that idea doesn't work."
"Lord, aren't you being too headstrong? A true gentleman knows when to yield for a lady."
"This is work—we can't half-ass it."
I was a little flustered.
Lord Herbert was always like that, which was why I'd paired them up to keep him in check, but I hadn't expected Lady Elizabeth to dig in so fiercely.
"Debate's over. Both of you, follow me."
"Yes."
"Alright."
If I left them like this, they'd probably start fighting for real, so I dragged them to another room.
"What's the problem with you two?"
I entered the storage room, shut the door, leaned back against it, lined them up side by side, and asked.
Lady Elizabeth shrugged first and spoke up.
"Isn't it bizarre to use an exquisite elf model like cheap street food bait? This calls for handling Caterina like a delicate masterpiece—elegant and refined."
Lord Herbert stared at her in clear frustration, then fired back the moment she finished.
"Advertising isn't fine art, Lady Elizabeth. Ads have to seize people's attention. How many races are as tolerant of exposure as elves? Not using every asset at our disposal is just foolish. And if we're talking stimulation, isn't her usual single tunic far more provocative?"
"That's exactly why we need the contrast."
"Then what's the point of using an elf model if we're dressing her like a human?"
"No, no! Both of you, calm down."
I hurriedly cut them off before the sparks could reignite, then tossed out another question before they could resume.
"I get what you're both saying, so why are you fighting over it? There's no reason to."
"Huh?"
"What?"
They stared at me like I'd spouted nonsense, eyes full of pity.
"Because there's only one Caterina."
"So one of us won't get our version. No room to compromise."
"......"
I rubbed the back of my neck once, then voiced my genuine confusion.
"Just dress her in both and shoot them. Why fight over it?"
"???"
Their brows furrowed in unison.
"You didn't think we'd only do one ad, did you?"
"Isn't that just common sense?"
"Putting multiple photos in a row, not even simple text—that's a huge burden, isn't it?"
Now their reactions made a bit more sense.
They'd both assumed one idea would be completely scrapped, so they'd gone all-in.
"Hah."
A dry chuckle escaped me.
When had we ever acted by common sense or pinched pennies?
I rubbed my dry face, swept my hair back, narrowed my eyes, and said,
"Picture ads aren't cheap, sure, but we're a brand-new outfit with basically zero recognition. You think one ad will bring the crowds? Not even illusion magic could pull that off."
"It's not pocket change—it's fine?"
"Too many irons in the fire to slow down over that."
I had considered applying the brakes at some point.
But ever since realizing that playing it safe would disappoint His Majesty the Emperor, I'd sworn not to halt until he gave the word.
"There might be an order to them, but as long as you don't cross lines and the concepts are solid, I'll run them all as ads. So unleash your artistic passions to the limit—got it?"
"Got it."
"Yes."
_
The advice to check the budget if issues persisted proved incredibly effective.
After I declared I'd greenlight everything as long as they toed the line, the two noticeably simmered down.
"How about this?"
"Shorten the sleeves more—to the elbows."
"Knew it."
They'd gone beyond subdued and started actively exchanging ideas.
I even felt a swell of pride seeing my original vision finally taking shape.
With the noisy disputes settled, I turned my focus back to the employees at the sewing stations.
"How's the embroidery?"
"Going smoothly."
"Any other issues?"
"No."
"No problems means... we have nothing to do!"
I glanced at Adelaide, limbs flying in a frenzy, and gave an awkward smile.
"Haha, can't be helped."
"Do we... even have a purpose here...?"
"Suddenly... no real work..."
Walter and Elin, the siblings who'd been idling away waiting for tasks, slumped their shoulders and hung their heads with gloomy voices.
I approached, gently ruffled their hair, and said,
"When the orders start pouring in, you'll be crying through the sewing even if you hate it."
"Really...?"
"Yeah. I guarantee it."
With all the money I've dumped—and will dump—here, I'm not letting it sit idle.
I'll shutter the business only after turning a profit.
And to do that, these employees need to be swamped enough to beg for hires through their tears.
I carefully placed a hand on each of their foreheads and turned their gazes to Adelaide.
"So for now, watch how Adelaide sews. It'll help a ton."
"Y-Yes..."
The siblings followed my lead and watched her hands and feet for just a moment before their faces drained white. In trembling voices, they said,
"B-But even so... that... doesn't seem right..."
"Our eyes... can't keep up..."
"Hmm..."
I scratched my head and eyed Adelaide's hands.
Her movements wasted almost no motion—if you could just track them, it'd be a massive help...
"Adelaide, hand me one."
"Sure~ Take it~"
I took a scrap of fabric from her, sat at the workbench, and picked up thread and needle.
"I'll show you quick—watch closely, okay?"
"Yes...!"
If the phoenix is too much, show them the chicken.
Inferior to Adelaide, sure, but among humans, I'm no slouch.
"What makes Adelaide amazing isn't just speed—it's the total lack of wasted motions and spot-on estimates."
"Yes."
"So don't chase speed and end up with sloppy work. Practice precise needle entry first—like this."
I held the fabric centered and ran the needle back and forth, stitching along the faint draft lines pre-marked on it.
"My hands fast?"
I moved slowly enough for everyone to track clearly. Once a single leaf was done, I asked the siblings, who were staring holes through my hands from either side.
"...K-Kinda like ours...?"
"Yeah, matching your speed. But how's the embroidery progress?"
"Faster..."
"Herbert always says it, right? Not fast—accurate."
"Yes..."
"Accuracy matters because one slip takes way more time to fix than it saves. Master precision first, then worry about speed."
I ramped up my hand speed like I was showing off.
Five minutes or so later, lips pressed tight in focus, I finished a full branch and set down the fabric and needle.
"Got it?"
"Yes..."
"Amazing..."
I patted the shoulders of the siblings, whose jaws had dropped as they inspected the embroidery, and stood.
"Practice a little while Adelaide finishes that. We'll be handling lots of fabric like this going forward."
"Yess~"
With that, I'd assigned the idlers some training practice. I returned to my corner and resumed overseeing things.
Thankfully, nothing else went awry after that.
_
We finished them off by Friday.
"How's it feel?"
"A bit uncomfortable, but better than the corset. I could wear this occasionally."
"Good. We go with this."
Even Caterina the elf, who treated underwear like a single thin cloth, gave a decent review, so I greenlit the final versions as-is.
"Shooting tomorrow? Thursday's paper means delivery by Sunday."
"Yeah. There's a small forest east of the capital—we'll shoot there."
"A forest? Not the riding grounds?"
Lady Elizabeth blinked in confusion at the word.
"Yeah, forest. Elves climbing trees is standard, right?"
In my mind, the classic elf image was perching in trees to nock arrows or communing with animals on stumps.
Forest it was, obviously.
"What?"
"Wouldn't a meadow suit better?"
"An elf in a tree? First I've heard."
But the staff's reactions weren't what I'd expected.
"Uh... huh?"
Flustered, I darted my eyes around.
What...?
Did I get something wrong...?