High-Defense Robes

"No. I'm asking you to show me robes with high defense! High exposure! Robes so sturdy you'd wonder whether the wearer is actually dressed or just has scraps of fabric stuck on!"

My bold voice rang through the shop, and a moment later—

"C-Customer... a-are you looking for a dancer's outfit?"

I asked for high-defense robes, so why does she keep going off on tangents?

I stared at the clerk in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠disbelief as she kept spouting nonsense even after I'd explained in detail, and just as I opened my mouth again, Hana spoke with a look of pure exasperation.

"Haa... Of course... I knew something was off the second he started going on about defense that doesn't even make sense. Ugh..."

Selena followed, ducking her flushed face and murmuring in a tiny voice.

"I-If Master wants it, I'll wear whatever he likes, but th-that's not what people call a high-defense robe..."

Faced with three women looking at me as if I were the one who was wrong—as if I were the strange one—I finally exploded.

"In a fantasy setting, the higher the tier, the rarer the gear, the higher the defense—the more skin it shows! That's just common sense!"

My voice, proclaiming a universal and self-evident truth, filled the shop. But the look in the three women's eyes didn't change one bit.

"I-I understand your personal opinion, sir, but..."

The clerk, clinging to her smile by sheer force of will.

"So this is why people say gaming addiction is a problem..."

Hana, muttering with a bitter expression.

"...Master... it's okay. I understand everything..."

Selena, gazing at me with pitying eyes.

Why am I the one getting treated like this when I'm the one who just stated an absolute, unchanging truth?!

I was despairing at a world where justice itself had crumbled—when a soft voice drifted over.

"I don't know what you mean by 'fantasy setting' and all that, but essentially you want robes that reveal as much as possible of a body with exquisite form—robes that show off the wearer's beautiful figure to the fullest, correct? How interesting. Shall we have a deeper conversation?"

Finally—someone who spoke my language!

I turned toward the intrigued voice and found a woman with brown hair swept up, a long measuring tape draped over her shoulders.

"L-Linda! I-If ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠word gets out ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that you made s-something that indecent..."

Indecent?! Indecent?! You sold that many sexy undergarments and now you're calling robes that pursue the absolute peak of defense indecent?!

I was silently raging at the clerk's double standard—the same woman who'd cheerfully peddled sexy lingerie—when Linda spoke.

"Samantha. You can't lead fashion with that kind of rigid thinking. Even our current hit, the Great Secret line—plenty of people denounced it at first, saying only prostitutes would wear it. And now? How many people buy it to enjoy time with their lovers, or simply to flaunt their own beauty?"

The clerk called Samantha flinched at Linda's rebuke and tried to protest.

"Th-That's true, but... those are u-undergarments..."

Linda walked over slowly, lightly patting her subordinate's slender, trembling shoulders as the woman carefully offered her opinion.

"I understand what you're worried about, Samantha. But don't. I can feel it again—the same feeling I had when we launched the Great Secret. I will succeed. Our brand, Linda, will succeed again."

Hana watched Linda reassure her subordinate with that confident voice, then muttered under her breath.

"That sounds more like the feeling of a flop..."

Hey. At this historic moment—when the formula that priestesses and mages in this world wear bikini robes as standard is about to begin—what kind of cursed nonsense is that?

I shot a sidelong glare at Hana for raining on the parade, then turned to Linda.

"As expected. An eye worthy of the kingdom's finest designer."

I laid on a light bit of flattery, and Linda answered with a soft smile.

"You're too kind. I'm the one who should thank a customer whose exceptional fashion sense has broadened my horizons. Shall we head to my workshop and discuss the robes you described?"

"To the workshop of the woman who will become the continent's greatest designer! An honor beyond my station."

"Hoho. Such lavish praise—I hardly know where to put myself. This way, then. Ah—and the two ladies who will actually wear the clothes should come as well. We'll need to take measurements."

Following Linda's lead, we arrived at the third-floor workshop. Countless bolts of fabric, mannequins, and more design sketches than I could count were scattered everywhere.

Hmm... Looks a lot like my room...

Sensing our gazes as we looked around, Linda spoke with an embarrassed little laugh.

"Hoho. A bit of a mess, isn't it? Every time inspiration strikes, I draw and make and draw and make..."

Looking at a workshop that resembled the room I could never go back to, I felt a strange kinship and nodded.

"You can't let those brief flashes of brilliance slip away. I understand completely."

"I knew you would! Hehe. Shall we discuss the design, then?"

Beaming, Linda spread a fresh sheet of paper across the desk.

"What about measurements...?"

I glanced back at Hana and Selena as I asked, and Linda answered while her pen moved with practiced ease.

"We need the framework first. Once we have a rough form, we can fit the numbers to their bodies."

In the span of a few words she had sketched a female figure, then held the pen out to me.

"Now then—would you draw the design you have in mind here?"

I looked at the offered pen, scratched my head, and asked back.

"Uh... my drawing skills aren't exactly great. Is that okay?"

"Hoho. Just the outlines will do. Here you go."

She laughed lightly and held the pen out again.

"Well then... for what little skill I have..."

Taking the pen with an awkward murmur, I drew an extremely, extremely sturdy robe over the female figure Linda had sketched.

"Less exposure than I expected?"

Linda asked, looking at a figure whose chest was half-covered and whose lower body was fully draped. I answered,

"Haha. What I want is a robe—not the 'dancer's outfit' your staff recommended."

"Same difference."

Tsk...

I shot a look at Hana grumbling behind me, then pointed at my clumsy sketch and added,

"Of course, this is just the idea of a fashion-illiterate commoner. If Linda says more exposure is needed, I'll follow her lead."

Linda shook her head.

"Not at all. The customer's taste comes first. Shall we talk details, then? You drew a design that covers about half the chest—will you reveal the upper bust, or the underside? The current trend leans toward underboob, but showing the upper chest along with the cleavage could work beautifully too."

Underboob and cleavage... I don't want to miss either...

Caught between the two lush curves peeking from beneath the fabric and the deep valley formed by a pair of firm, springy mounds, I spoke in a carefully casual tone.

"Is it... possible to do both?"

"Hehe. Of course. Upper exposure and lower exposure—two designs..."

Smiling softly, Linda jotted a short note in the corner of the sketch and asked,

"And for the lower half?"

I thought back to the various designs I'd seen in my previous life and asked,

"I'd like side slits up to the top of the thighs—should it be one side only, or both?"

"Hmm... both have their own charms... mm..."

Linda considered my question for a moment, then added another line beneath her notes.

"How about this. I'll make both designs, and you can purchase whichever you like best."

"You're doing a special commission for her—I couldn't possibly. I'll buy every robe you make."

Ah. With the count's money, of course.

I kept that last part to myself and smiled as I spoke. Linda covered her mouth with her hand and laughed softly.

"Hoho. I'll have to pour my heart into this so you don't regret it. Now then—shall we discuss how to connect the upper and lower halves? It is a robe, after all."

"Right. From the lower abdomen... that is, from the navel line down to the hips..."

After a long discussion with Linda about how to preserve the identity of a "robe"—a single garment joining top and bottom—I turned to Selena.

"She says she's taking measurements, so go with her."

Selena, who had been watching the sketch take shape with a steadily reddening face, gave a little start and approached Linda.

"Ah. So you wanted this design to show off the tattoo?"

Linda murmured, catching sight of the brand visible through the roughly cut hole, then led Selena behind ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a curtain hanging in the corner.

"I thought so the first time I saw her, but her body is truly... haah... no wonder her partner wants to show off that figure with pride. Hoho."

Linda's voice drifted through the curtain.

"Th-That's... l-lover..."

Selena tried to correct the word "partner," but Linda cut her off.

"Ah. Arms out, please. Mm... bust is... 93...4, underbust 67...6. That makes... 65G... waist is... 56...3, hips... 92...7. Perfect. Length is... yes. All done. You can get dressed again."

Selena emerged without ever managing the correction, and Linda's voice called from behind the curtain at once.

"Next person, please come in."