Chapter 3
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 3: Red Dragon Carmilla
My eyes narrowed.
I didn't see that wrong just now, right?
That Carmilla. Is naked?
No. She is clearly wearing clothes right now, though?
[Tier 7 Illusion Magic 'False Dignity']
It was a magic I was seeing for the first time.
As if understanding me, a new system message popped up.
[False Dignity] [Blocks sight with illusory clothes created by magic.] [A magic that can protect the caster's dignity so that unpermitted beings do not dare look inside.]
So, what you're saying is. That red dress I'm looking at right now. Is actually fake visual information created by magic?
And Carmilla is actually standing naked in front of me right now?
This crazy bitch. I've gotten tangled up with a total pervert bitch.
I looked at Elena. She didn't seem to feel any sense of incongruity at all.
Well, yeah. Only I can see the guest's information pop up through the system like this.
Should I report this to the police? No, what would I even say if I reported it? Say 'This woman is standing naked in front of me'?
'Would they even believe me?'
Of course not.
Right now, her magic is so perfect that even I, who have handled clothes all my life, wouldn't have noticed it without the system's help. Would the police coming change anything?
I'd probably be the one getting arrested, wouldn't I?
On charges of sexually harassing a high-ranking commissioner of the Heterogeneous Species Alliance and the Chairwoman of Ignis Industry.
That can't happen.
'Right. Let's endure it.'
I don't know anything. I don't know the fact that this exhibitionist pervert dragon is running around naked.
As if she didn't like my reaction, Carmilla furrowed her brow.
"How insolent. You've received this lady as a guest, yet you don't even bring out tea?"
The heat filling the laundry grew even hotter. The muggy feeling made me gasp for breath.
"Elena, prepare some refreshments and bring them out." "Eh? Of course! I will bring out tea with a holy blessing added just for you, sister!"
Elena scurried into the breakroom.
Carmilla, who had been quietly watching Elena enter the breakroom, opened her mouth.
"A nun's uniform from the Church of Light. Could it be that this place is also operated as the religious order's property?" "That's not it. Elena is just a friend working here as an employee." "Hoh, is that so?"
There was a clattering sound from the breakroom, and then Elena came out holding cold green tea filled with ice on a silver tray.
"Sister, this is our laundry's pride, cold green tea with ice made from holy water floating in it. It's a special medicine for cooling down burning heat."
As Carmilla took a sip of the cold green tea, the heat radiating from her body subsided a bit.
"Mm. The cold energy isn't bad. You've hired quite a useful employee, human."
A satisfied smile formed on Carmilla's lips, as if the taste was decent. At that moment, Elena covered her mouth with the tray and whispered softly into my ear.
"Boss, since I put in ice with a bit of holy water added, should we add 100,000 won for the holy water to the receipt? She's a guest who can easily pay this much." "..."
What kind of green tea costs 100,000 won? And that isn't even holy water. Isn't it just ice frozen from the water purifier?
Elena, having made eye contact with me, winked one eyebrow.
This scammer. Watching that sight, Carmilla chuckled. It was because she had underestimated a dragon's hearing.
"I hear everything. You're a cheeky little girl." "Ah, d-did you hear? Hoho, it's a specially made recipe to soften your heat, sister." "It's on the cheap side as a price for cooling down this lady's body temperature, so I'll give you that much as a tip." "God will be moved by your generosity, sister!"
Elena immediately entered sales mode and smiled brightly. She's an absolute fox.
'Good job, Elena.'
Mentally adding 100,000 won to the receipt, I asked Carmilla.
"Do you have an item you'd like to leave for mending or laundry?" "...I am looking to leave something for mending."
As she waved her hand, the space warped, and a small bag revealed itself.
Inside the bag, a half-burned piece of cloth took up space.
"It is a dress made by extracting dragon scales like thread. No, it was a dress."
What would have originally been a dress burning with a red color had lost its true color.
If it was an item using dragon scales, it should naturally emit mana. However, no energy could be felt from this dress.
"It couldn't overcome this lady's power and burned up. It's fortunate that even half of it was salvaged." "...Are you asking me to mend this?" "That's right. I will give you however much money you want. I want you to remake it into clothes that can withstand this lady's noble fire."
Inside the bag, along with the half-burned dress, red scales were laid out.
"I want you to extract thread from those scales and make it."
Seeing the scales, Elena's eyes grew wide.
"Uh? I-isn't this a dragon scale?" "Correct. It is an item processed by directly plucking this lady's scales." "S-sister's scales? T-then the price of just one of these would be..."
Elena's pupils trembled. Her mouth watering, she audibly gulped.
"It is one of the few items that can withstand this lady's heat. However, once detached from this lady's body, it burned up before long." "...If it's item crafting, I think it would be better for you to go to a blacksmith or a tailor." "I've been. But it was all useless." "..."
Now I understood. The reason Carmilla was standing naked, having created illusory clothes using a false magic.
Because she didn't have clothes that could withstand her heat. So she chose magic as a substitute.
"Is it possible? If you are not confident, you may give up. This lady didn't come with much expectation anyway."
Even while walking around essentially naked, she was confident. Probably because of her confidence that no one could recognize it.
Well, even looking with my bare eyes, I only saw her clothes, after all.
The chill touching her bare skin when the wind blows. The cold sensation touching her buttocks when she sits on a chair. She must have been feeling all of that starkly.
Hmm, I understand the situation. And I understand why she sought out a laundry stuck in the corner.
But here's the thing.
'Even so, staying naked continuously just isn't right.'
She was just covering her body with a magic called False Dignity, but she was in a naked state wearing absolutely nothing.
The reason was because any clothes she put on her body would all burn up.
It was essentially the same as Carmilla saying it with her own mouth just now.
Something like that.
To a dragon, the gaze of a human probably felt like nothing much.
But even so, isn't it too perverted to say that you're naked, that your body is bare?
Right. If she admitted it up to that point.
I have no choice but to accept it too.
"Guest."
I pointed my index finger at her splendid dress, no, at empty air.
"Shall I give you something to throw over your body?" "...What does that mean?" "Boss, what are you saying to a noble guest who is already wearing a wonderful dress?"
Right. To Elena, no, to everyone else, that would look like clothes. It actually looks like that to me, too.
[Equipped Gear: Tier 7 Illusion Magic 'False Dignity'] [Durability: null / null] [Status: Naked]
If it weren't for this, I wouldn't have said that either.
And you admitted it yourself. That all the clothes you wear burn up. Then what are the clothes you're wearing right now?
"..."
Carmilla's eyes narrowed. Elena, not knowing what to do at the sight of a precious guest being displeased.
She hurriedly approached me and whispered in my ear.
"A-apologize right now. It's really hard to see such a big shot guest."
It was the desperate gesture of a wage earner wanting to receive their salary no matter what.
I know she's a precious guest too.
But sometimes, there are times when you have to show them. Just how far I can see, and just how much I can do.
That alone can give trust to a customer.
"It's troublesome if you walk around completely naked in a public place like that. You'll get reported for public indecency."
In an instant, Carmilla's movements stopped dead.
"Naked? Are you talking about this lady?" "It's flawless, but you can't fool my eyes." "!" "You're not wearing a single thread right now, are you?"
It wasn't Carmilla who was surprised by my words.
Smack!
"Ugh!" "Boss! Are you crazy?"
A startled Elena smacked my back. You put holy power in your hand just now, didn't you?
That hurt like hell!
"T-that's sexual harassment! Do you want to get dragged away by the police for sexual harassment?"
Unlike the startled Elena, Carmilla was smiling leisurely.
T-that, pervert bitch! She's smiling even though I pointed out she's naked! She enjoys her shame being discovered?
They said dragons were crazy beings. She's a real crazy bitch.
Is this what a pubescent girl feels when meeting a flasher?
I suddenly got scared.
Fwoosh!
Flames surged from Carmilla's body.
"How amusing. Do you dare try to humiliate this lady?"
Mm. Was that smile just now not an expression of enjoyment, but of anger?
The burning flames were covering Carmilla's face, so I couldn't see properly.
Looking closely, Carmilla's face had turned red like a well-ripe tomato. Both of her arms were covering her chest. She was saying no, but her body was speaking honestly.
That she was naked.
It was a reflexive action shown because it was pointed out that she was naked.
"R-really?"
Seeing that sight, Elena's eyes grew wide.
"You said with your own mouth that you have no clothes to cover your body, and now you're going to pretend you don't know?" "..."
Carmilla's eyes landed on the burned dress.
"You pierced through this lady's truth with just this?" "Please wait a moment. I'll give you something you can wrap around your body."
I took out a blanket and started ironing.
"Isn't that a common blanket sold at Dongdaemun?"
Seeing the red blanket in my hand, Carmilla's brow crumpled.
That's right. A Dongdaemun blanket. It was a blanket you could commonly see anywhere. An ordinary red blanket sold even at street stalls and markets in front of the Dongdaemun Dungeon. An ordinary dungeon item made of 30% Fire Wool of a red sheep that maintains warmth and 70% polyester.
"Are you saying you'll use that lowly blanket on this lady right now?" "It's a temporary measure." "It will be useless. The moment it touches this lady's body, it will melt away immediately." "We won't know that until we try using it."
I understood Carmilla reacting like that, too.
It was an ordinary blanket usable for maintaining temperature in dungeons D-Rank and below.
To Carmilla, who had only draped high-grade items on her body her entire life, it must be the lowliest of lowly items.
An ordinary item wouldn't have been able to withstand the heat coming from her body.
Since I was trying to hand over an item that would burn up the moment it touched her, she must be annoyed.
Right. It was an ordinary blanket.
However, this guy was the item I personally considered my masterpiece. Why, you ask?
It was a monumental item that went through remodeling and mending for the first time after I awakened my ability to S-Rank.
[Dongdaemun Blanket] Rank: A+ Main Fabric: Fire Wool Blend 30%, Polyester 70% Dongdaemun Dungeon Market Wholesale Price: 15,000 won.
[Buff Effects] [Wool Laundry Bleach: The very concept of 'burning' possessed by the fabric was considered a stain and completely erased.] [Physical Ignition is impossible.] [Fabric Softener Use: The unique roughness of cheap fabric was melted away with 'Cloud-Touch Softener.' - Duration: 30 days] [It is softer than S-Rank Silk.]
[Crafter: Kim Jinsoo]
The blanket, which was originally an ordinary item D-Rank or below, had now become a precious item worth an A+ Rank.
Of course, I suffered that much for it, though. It wasn't a bad blanket to drape over the body of the exhibitionist woman right in front of my eyes.
Because it was a blanket that would absolutely never burn even if thrown into the lava of an S-Rank dungeon.
Sizzle!
I took out the iron, blowing out steam, and started ironing.
"Hrmmm~." "..."
Carmilla was still in a completely angry state. Since I said I could pierce through the falsehood of her magic, she remained with both hands covering her chest.
Every time I painstakingly ironed, the cozy fragrance from the steam filled the shop.
[Coating - Heat Conduction Block] An 'Absolute Thermal Insulation' coating was applied during the ironing process. No matter how hot the environment, like lava, the fabric maintains a fluffy room temperature. - [Duration: 30 minutes]
"Done."
Having newly wrapped it in buffs with my mending skill, I handed the neatly folded blanket to Carmilla.
"Drape this over your shoulders first. It's uncomfortable to see you standing there naked." "Did you ignore this lady's words just now? A blanket like this is useless..."
Carmilla, who received the blanket from me with a bored face as if she knew the ending, widened her eyes.
"U-uh?"
A blanket perfectly intact despite being grasped in the hands of the Red Dragon Carmilla. When the clothes that should have normally burned or melted away remained perfectly intact, she looked back and forth between me and the blanket while holding it in her hand, seemingly flustered.
"H-how did you do this? Why is this perfectly intact..."
The words wouldn't even come out properly.
Carmilla stroked the blanket down with trembling hands. She seemed surprised that this thin piece of cloth was perfectly blocking the heat that could melt even iron pouring out from her body.
"It's cozy. It's really been a long time since I felt such a fluffy texture."
She touched the blanket with a deeply moved face. No matter how much Carmilla touched it, the blanket was perfectly intact.
Having confirmed that the blanket was perfectly intact, Carmilla draped the blanket over her shoulders.
That sight looked as natural as if she had draped a shawl over her red dress.
The blanket wrapped gently around her shoulders, her chest, and down to her waist. Seeing the blanket remain perfectly intact without burning even while naturally covering her body, Carmilla swallowed her breath.
"It's soft..."
As if surprised by the fluffy and soft sensation as if it were new, she stroked the blanket over and over.
The feeling of warm fabric touching the skin is nice. Because of that soft texture after finishing the ironing, it was an item I favored when taking a nap.
Whether it was her first time experiencing this, she stared piercingly at the blanket covering her shoulders with a blank face.
"To withstand this lady's heat, it must surely be an extraordinary blanket. Is it a blanket made from the leather of an ancient dragon? Or the robe of the Spirit King of Fire from legends? An item of that caliber should be able to withstand this lady's heat. Did you purposely craft it with the same design as a commercial item to prevent theft?" "No, I didn't." "Then..." "Didn't you say it earlier, Ms. Carmilla? That it's a 15,000 won blanket commonly sold in the Dongdaemun Dungeon."
An expression of disbelief.
She blinked at the words of a trivial blanket she herself had said earlier.
"What?" "It's the blanket I use when I take a nap. I like it because it's warm." "A-a blanket used when taking a nap? You use such a treasure for merely that?"
Carmilla's pupils shook as if an earthquake had happened.
"Unbelievable. Merely a cheap cloth barely D-Rank can withstand this lady's heat? Are you ignoring this lady's eyes right now? This is a high-level artifact!" "It's originally a cheap fabric, yes, but I washed it quite intensely."
Silence. Shocked, she opened and closed her mouth without being able to say anything.
"Washed it? Are you saying you changed the dignity of the fabric by doing laundry?"
I shrugged my shoulders.
"It took a little while. It requires a lot of sincerity." "..."
An expression of disbelief.
"Look at the label attached there."
At my words, she looked at the label attached to the blanket.
"...To think it's true."
Seeing the ingredient list, she blankly looked at the blanket.
"I-if that's the case..."
Greed wavered in her eyes.
[The Red Dragon 'Carmilla' shudders at your laundry skills.] [She feels an intense urge to want to steal the blanket.]
She can't help but covet it. Because it's my masterpiece.
"D-do you have any intention of selling this blanket to this lady?"