“Oh, close—close enough!”
“I know, right? It might have to be a little softer for me, though.”
“What do you think, Dahlia?”
“How about you, Ms. Dahlia?”
“Um, I think this is just about right for me...?” In the workshop of the Scalfarottos’ villa, Dahlia was in a dilemma over how to respond. With her were Lucia and Idaea; her bodyguard Marcella was receiving equestrian training. Their current research was on bust pads, and they were on the topic of how the material felt in the hand. Lucia had taken off her jacket, Idaea had removed her jacket as well as a corset-like garment with metallic inserts, and all three women were in the middle of a serious discussion.
Atop the desk they were sitting around was a white ellipsoidal bag filled with both the light brown pellets created by powerful earth and fire magic enchantment—dunasphera—and the red slime enchanted with powerful water magic—body heat conservation material. A mixture of the two offered a sensation like soft and warm fat. Even like tender flesh, perhaps. However, Dahlia couldn’t help but wonder why this had to be used to pad the chest. A body was covered by both upper and lower body undergarments, not to mention clothes on top of them. It wasn’t like they were particularly prone to being touched. Besides, cotton was normally used to pad the chest. How curious it was that something so realistic was needed.
“Hmm. I guess individual differences really are quite big.”
“Rather than have something that is one-size-fits-all, perhaps they should be tailored to each person.” Now that they had the prototype breast pads in their hands, a conclusion had finally been reached—they ought to be made to order.
“Can I have this first, Dahlia? The Tailors’ Guild will apply a stabilization to make sure it’s safe, and I’ll go to the temple to make a contract to keep this under wraps. Once you come up with a number, I’ll pay you back.” Lucia spoke not as a friend but as the head manager of the Magical Garment Factory.
“Sure thing, but will just the one be okay?”
“Yep. See, there’s someone in the Guild who had one breast removed because of an illness. She had a priest heal her, but her illness relapsed, and she didn’t have the money to get another round of healing magic. She stuffs with cotton right now, but as someone who has always had breasts, her balance isn’t so good anymore. Oh, and she recently even said that ‘her organs get directly chilled’—it seems it’s really cold, so I was hoping to get her to try out the pad before winter comes.”
“Oh, that’s why...” No wonder Lucia wanted it urgently.
“Cotton pads are less convenient than you’d expect—they flatten out too quickly, and they get ruined by sweat. They don’t help much with the cold, and you have to be careful when walking in a crowd because they don’t absorb impact well.”
Rather than a couturier thing, it was a genuine, real-world medical problem, and it seemed like a big one at that. “It’s a safety thing too, then?”
“Mm-hmm. You know how there are some problems that temples can’t heal away, like illness and scars? Well, people who live outside the capital might not even make it to a temple within seven days, and there’s the cost of traveling to keep in mind. Sure, nobles might have a mage with healing magic at home, but a priest’s services are too expensive for commoners in the provinces. I’ve heard there are even people who make it to the capital too late and enter state-run institutions instead.”
“I never knew that. I always assumed that there were itinerant priests who served the countryside.”
“It isn’t possible to simply get more priests, but since maybe clothes can at least help alleviate some of the problem, I really want to come out with more supportive garments like this at the Guild. I’m so overly eager to do this that I even blurted this stuff out in front of the big shots...” The other day, Lucia had talked about bust pads in the same room as the noblemen, and it seemed like it was still bothering her. But Bernigi and the others had made a few comments too, so it probably hadn’t done much damage. “I’m thinking of using this for fashion too, of course. It’s realistic, and it’s good to look how you want to look. It wouldn’t be just for breasts either; I’m sure many people would like to augment their shoulders or butts or whatever too. On the other hand, stuff like corsets can help make someone minimize their features.”
“Would the shoulder pads be for men, Ms. Lucia?”
“They could be for anyone, but they would be primarily for men since broader shoulders give a suit more impact; giving the collar a bit more oomph makes someone look smarter, though. Nobles, knights, and the retired tend to add padding.”
“Wouldn’t cotton pads do, Lucia?”
“Well, about that—I’ve heard that when a man meets another man, he might make fun of him by patting him on the shoulder and shouting, ‘Stuffing?!’ while acting all shocked.”
“Oh, that’s so dirty...” It must have been hard being a nobleman and having to deal with such cruelty.
“Nobles have things like ‘This outfit must be worn for this function,’ so there are times when it’s obvious something doesn’t suit them. It doesn’t matter if it’s clothing designed for men or women, people should just wear what they like and what looks good on them. But I guess that’s too much to ask of our society.”
“Keep in mind that in Ehrlichia, cross-dressing gets you more than just weird looks; things are better here.”
“People there can’t even get married to someone of the same sex. I kinda get why people move to Ordine.”
Same-sex and polygamous marriages were recognized here in Ordine. Though they were comparatively less common, there was a married couple of the same sex in Dahlia’s neighborhood, and they were not out of place. It was rare to get nasty comments from others when dressing up in a nonconforming way too. Hence, it wasn’t uncommon for gay couples who couldn’t legally get married in other countries or who were being persecuted to immigrate here. Unfortunately, due to the perception that Ordine was stealing the citizens of another nation, there was some friction with Ehrlichia.
“By the way, I never noticed until now, but you have quite the full chest, Ms. Idaea. You’d look great if you showed your shoulders, so why do you wear that chest support like a knight?” Lucia had a good point—the sternum brace that Idaea usually wore completely hid her curvy figure.
“What good are breasts anyway? They make it hard to move around and make me look fat, so I normally cover them up with the supporter and a coat. Plus-size lingerie is awfully pricey, and the shoulder straps get stretched out too quickly. These supporters for female knights are far more durable.”
“I suppose that is true—the larger the size, the more expensive they get...”
“Indeed. And having a conspicuous chest attracts the weirdest people.”
“As in people hit on you because of your breasts?”
“No, they skip the flirting and go straight for the grabbing. They assume I’m just some wallflower because of my looks.” Idaea had long, sky blue hair, slightly downturned hyacinth eyes, a light complexion, and soft facial features—her navy, thin-framed glasses suited her well, but she certainly had a meek demeanor. “I’ve been to the guard station three times before, enough that they recognize me now.”
“To be harassed so often that the guards recognize you is simply sickening...”
“Don’t worry, I’m fine. If the creeps don’t cut it out when I tell them to, I reach for some concentrated corrosives.”
“A slime’s digestive fluids, perhaps?”
“Precisely. Aim for the eyes, and they’ll be immobilized immediately. They’ll then get sent off to the temple, which costs them three, four gold for treatment. It’s not easy bringing them all the way to a guard station sometimes. I mean, slimes feel way better to touch.” The acid would definitely cause burns to the face, and if it got into their eyes and they didn’t have a potion on hand, they’d be writhing on the ground.
“You’re so strong, Ms. Idaea! I’m guessing there are a few knights in your household?”
“I have four elder brothers, two of whom are knights. They are all very protective of me and taught me many ways to defend myself.” Her brothers had worked hard to teach her, but it was equally impressive that she’d learned so much.
“Is your father a knight as well?”
“No, he is an alchemist who runs his own business, but I don’t know if I can call him my father—I’ve been disowned, you see.”
“Wait, really?”
“My family cultivates medicinal herbs, but when I was in college, I did slime research instead of herbalism, and that caused a lot of bickering. One time, when I returned home during a break, I fed my pet slime medicinal herbs, and from then on, I was no longer part of the family.”
“Ahh, I kinda get it. If I’d lost the tools of my trade, I can’t say I wouldn’t have done the same...” Lucia must’ve been imagining her beloved scissors and clothes gobbled up by a slime—if something like that happened to Dahlia, she would have a long, long talk with the culprit too.
“My father is a bit of a scaramouch. All I did was feed it a row of herbs for making high potions, and it’s not like the stuff doesn’t grow back.”