177 - The Haberdashery and the Suspicious Merchant
When the martial arts tournament ended, the vice-commanders of each fortress returned to their respective fortresses. The Fortress Lord's Residence hasn't changed much, but Alf, who had to accommodate three vice-commanders staying over, seems to have relaxed a little. Either way, my daily life hasn't changed much. In theory, there was supposed to be a change where if Leonardo lost in the tournament, our place of residence would change, but Leonardo and Alf's match was held at the very beginning of the tournament. By the time I went to see the tournament, Leonardo's continued tenure as Commander had already been decided.
Incidentally, the reason Leonardo and Alf's match was last last year was because they didn't summon vice-commanders from other fortresses as usual, due to concerns about Wards disease spreading in the fortress. Since there were fewer strong fighters than usual to draw attention, the match between the Grenore Fortress Commander and Vice-Commander, normally held first, was moved to the end to liven things up. The reason the Commander versus Vice-Commander match isn't usually last is because Leonardo is a special Commander. To prevent Leonardo's number of matches from being too lopsided, it's necessary to show early on that Leonardo is stronger than Alf. Kalisa told me that it's only because Leonardo is special that in other fortresses, the Commander versus Vice-Commander match is held last.
...Now then, what should I do?
I spread the cloth with the preliminary sketch on the attic bed and thought for a while.
...Should I make it Herkeles's golden hair, or Leonyaldo-san's black hair?
The hair color of the main subject. Just that alone should change the impression of the finished piece.
...Or maybe, both, so it looks like either?
Normally, golden hair and black hair can't coexist. But I have memories from my past life. In Japan, a culture overflowing with manga and anime, there were plenty of people who could draw beautiful pictures even as amateurs, and I had opportunities to see those works too. I think it's about light expression, but I've even seen illustrations where red hair and golden hair coexist. If I consider it as one form of light expression, I think it's possible to make black hair and golden hair coexist.
...The color scheme might end up unusual, but if I'm showing it to Jemian-sama, he'd probably find that more interesting, right?
For black hair too, just using black thread feels uninteresting. Mixing in dark blue or gray thread might produce an interesting effect. If I'm going to make black hair and golden hair coexist as an expression of light, it might be interesting to focus on highlights and luster as well.
...Come to think of it, I think I've heard that in CG, they paint shadows with pink?
Since I have the chance, let me think about various things and play around. Eventually I plan to give it to Leonardo, but I've promised to show the finished piece to Jemian, who helped me with the preliminary sketch, as thanks. I don't think I can create something that meets the standards of Jemian, who loves artistic works like paintings, but if it can at least serve as some kind of stimulation, like "so this kind of expression exists too," that would repay my debt.
...Would pink only in the shadows look unnatural? Should I try mixing a little pink into the whole thing?
While thinking about mixing colors into the thread itself, various things I never normally think about came to mind. The three primary colors are red, blue, and yellow. Colors other than these three, like green or orange, should be creatable by mixing these three. When it comes to printed matter, black is added to make four colors, the so-called CMYK. Color printed matter is a collection of dots, and when you look closely, it's just dots drawn in each color. When those dots become a surface from a little distance, it looks like a single photograph or picture. Human eyes are interesting.
...Maybe it'd be interesting to limit myself to three colors and make all colors from them.
I can't take such a risk on my first try, though. As a concept, it might be interesting.
After peeking into the sewing box Hermine gave me to check the embroidery thread colors, I decided to go to the thread shop with Kalisa. Hermine taught me that a lady calls a merchant to her residence and doesn't go to shops herself, but I also want to enjoy the atmosphere of shopping at a thread shop. I'll try the ladylike way of shopping next time.
The place Kalisa brought me to was a haberdashery facing the main street. I'd expected her to take me to a thread shop, but it was a haberdashery.
"Isn't this a thread shop, deshu?"
"...The thread shop is in an alley, so I cannot bring the young lady there alone."
"I undershtand, deshu."
In other words, the thread shop is outside the range Leonardo permitted me to move around in. I suppose it's the difference between a wholesaler for shops and a retailer for customers. Strictly speaking it's different, but roughly speaking, the thread shop is a wholesaler and the haberdashery is a retailer. The haberdashery's appearance is well-maintained as well as its merchandise, but the thread shop takes the stance that those who need its goods simply buy what they need, so even if the quality of the goods is the same, they don't put effort into the appearance of the shop interior or exterior. It might be easier to understand if I think of it as having a storefront unsuitable for me, being treated as a young lady, to approach.
"...This is not a thread shop, but besides embroidery thread, they also sell buttons and cloth."
"It's fun," Kalisa said. "This way," she guided me through the store, and we soon reached the area where the embroidery thread was displayed.
"There are so many colors, deshu."
"...You can choose your favorite colors and order them from the thread shop as well."
Come to think of it, this is my first time coming to a place that sells embroidery thread myself. When I embroidered Leonardo's sleeve, the tailor prepared the thread, and in Hermine's lessons, I used embroidery thread that Hermine had prepared. When I embroidered the handkerchief to give to Aurelia, Alf prepared the embroidery thread.
...They really mean it when they say a young lady doesn't leave the residence.
I thought I didn't leave the residence because I'm an indoor person by nature, but actually it was just that everything I needed was provided without my leaving the residence, so I simply hadn't realized it and hadn't gone out.
"Oh my, an unfamiliar young lady... no, that's not right. I apologize. The fortress lord's sister."
A well-dressed plump woman came out from the back of the store. The woman seemed to know me, but I didn't remember her face. When I hid behind Kalisa's shadow, unsure how to respond, she seemed to realize I was on guard. She told me she was the owner of this shop and had learned about me at the Recollection Festival.
...Come to think of it, at the end of the Recollection Festival, I talked with many people while being carried in Leonyaldo-san's arms.
At the end of the Recollection Festival, we gave our apologies and thanks for the trouble caused at the Divine King Festival. The shop owner must have been there, or heard about me from someone who was.
"What might you be looking for today?"
"Umm..."
I was surprised by the owner's appearance, but the person most knowledgeable about the goods handled is the shop owner. Since I had the chance, I decided to look for embroidery thread while getting her advice.
According to the owner, if you want to embroider an entire picture, you need an incredible amount of embroidery thread. I thought I could just buy more if I ran out, but she explained that the same color isn't always available, and even the same color can be subtly different. If you want thread of exactly the same color, it's better to buy a large quantity of thread dyed at the same time, or calculate the amount of thread you need in advance and have that color dyed specifically.
...Right. Of course it's not factory-produced. There's no way the same color would always be exactly the same.
Since I'd be dyeing the thread anyway, I asked if I could also choose the material, and she showed me various white threads in different materials. She explained that I could choose the thread material from these samples and place an order with the thread shop and dye works to have it dyed in my preferred color.
"...So first, what I need to do isn't buy embroidery thread, but calculate how much thread I'll need, deshu."
"Yes. That would be advisable."
Once I know the amount needed, I can either choose from ready-made products or order everything from thread to dyeing. After teaching me how to calculate the approximate amount needed, the owner finally said that next time I should call her to the residence and she would come. I suppose the fortress lord's sister arriving without notice is bad for her heart.
...Did I do something wrong?
I don't know if it's a privilege of being the fortress lord's sister or an advance investment, but she gave me several thread samples with the place of origin and material written on them, so I gratefully accepted them. She said I could use them as reference and decide on my order by the time I called her to the residence next time. She also said she'd be happy to help anytime, so I should feel free to call on her.
When I left the shop, the black dog Oscar, who had been waiting at the entrance, approached me. Seeing him wait outside the shop without being commanded like this really makes me think he's a well-trained dog.
...Even though lately he hasn't been listening to Bertrand-sama's commands at all.
Bertrand apparently orders the black dog to find people, but every time the dog is released, he comes to me. I wonder if this is genuine defiance against Bertrand. Thinking about such things, I started heading home, but was stopped by an unfamiliar voice from behind.
"Hey, hey! You there, little miss!"
It was a voice I didn't recognize, but I somehow knew it was directed at me and stopped. Who could it be? When I turned around, a skinny, unfamiliar man came running toward me.
"Ah, thank goodness! You stopped! Hey, little miss, just a... whuff!?"
The man's voice rose at the end because the black dog had cut in between me and the man. Apparently, this man, who looked suspicious at first glance, was also a person to be wary of from the black dog's perspective.
...Great. I've been talked to by someone who seems troublesome.
I'm already regretting having stopped. I know I shouldn't judge people by appearances, but first impressions are important. And when they're formed face to face, first impressions are almost certainly based on appearance.
...Better not engage.
I pulled Kalisa further in between me and the black dog, and hid behind her. That should convey that I'm on guard.
"Is there something you need?"
"You've got a pretty, unusual lace ribbon there. How about showing it to uncle properly?"
"No, deshu."
So his target is Aurelia's lace. I covered the ribbon with both hands to hide it from the man whose eyes looked somehow suspicious. I'd worn Aurelia's ribbon today because I was enjoying the outing, but it seems to have brought a disaster upon me. Basically, I'm not good with people I meet for the first time, and for me, who is by nature shy with strangers, having a conversation with a strange-looking unknown man I met on the street is nothing but a disaster. The excitement I felt from the outing and seeing so much embroidery thread sank as if muddy water had been poured over my head.
"Oh, don't say that! What a cute ribbon! Such pretty lace! Uncle really wants to see it!"
"I don't talk to shtrange old men I don't know, deshu!"
When I raised my voice slightly to intimidate him, the black dog understood that I'd deemed him an enemy. The dog, who had only been blocking the space between us, lowered his head slightly and began to growl. Intimidated by the black dog, the man seemed to give up on approaching me further, and began clasping his hands in front of his chest in a pleading pose.
"At least, can you tell uncle where you bought it? I may not look it, but I'm a merchant, you know?"
"I'm not shuspicious at all," the man desperately insisted, but to my eyes he only looked more suspicious.
"I didn't buy it, deshu. It was a gift."
"A gift from who, where? If you tell me, uncle could go directly to that person's place..."
"I got it from shomeone important, like a grandmother, but that's pershonal information, shso I won't tell a shuspicious old man, deshu."
"Uncle's not suspicious! Oh, I know! If you won't show me, how about selling that ribbon to uncle?"
The man started saying he'd buy it for one silver coin, making me feel foolish for desperately telling myself don't judge people by appearances. This man is definitely a suspicious person, just as he looks. Thanks to Leonardo, who in his brotherly dotage insists on getting me only good things, I've come to recognize decent quality. Aurelia's lace ribbon isn't worth a measly single silver coin.
"I won't sell this ribbon, deshu, and I won't deal with you anymore, old man, deshu."
"Let's go," I said, pulling Kalisa's hand and walking in the opposite direction from the residence. You never know what this kind of suspicious person might do. Call me overly cautious if you like, but going straight back to the residence feels like he might follow me all the way home, which gives me the creeps.
"H-hey, wait, little mi... wha!?"
He tried to follow, but I heard the black dog bark. The growling grew louder, so the man is probably still watching us. I quickened my pace toward the square where the central street and the main street intersect.
"...He's still following."
Kalisa glanced behind and reported to me. Thanks to the black dog blocking his way, he couldn't get close, but the suspicious man was still tailing us. More precisely, he was tailing Aurelia's lace.
"It won't be long now. Let him follow as he pleases."
Just as she said that, I spotted the figure of a Black Knight standing on a street corner. I'd thought there would be Black Knights on patrol somewhere around this square at this hour.
"Ah, Teddy-san! Hello, deshu!"
When I approached, it was a Black Knight whose face and name I knew. I feel like I'm in luck today.
"Hello, Tina-chan and Kalisa. Out shopping, for once?"
"Kalisha brought me to the haberdashery, deshu, but..."
I paused, and made the most worried expression I could. My eyes glistened as if I was about to cry, and I hugged Kalisa's waist.
"A shtrange old man's been following me, and I can't go home, deshu..."
"A strange... old man...?"
"That pershon, deshu," I said, pointing at the self-proclaimed merchant behind us as Teddy looked puzzled. The black dog was clinging to the merchant's feet, obstructing his movement, so Teddy should be able to tell immediately.
"He shuddenly called out to me and shaid he'd buy my ribbon for one shilver coin, deshu. I refused, but he kept following me."
"That ribbon... for one silver coin? That certainly is a suspicious character."
As expected, even Teddy could tell at a glance that one silver coin was a throwaway price. Someone suspicious trying to forcibly take a ribbon from a child for a throwaway price is sufficient grounds for reporting. When Teddy whistled with his fingers, three Black Knights gathered. Since Black Knights patrol in groups of several people, there must have been other Black Knights nearby that I just hadn't noticed.
The black dog passed by me, and the three Black Knights approached the self-proclaimed merchant. Once I confirmed the merchant surrounded by three Black Knights, I felt relieved for the time being.
After the merchant was taken away by the Black Knights and disappeared from sight completely, Teddy escorted us back to the residence.
By the way, if you paint shadows with pink, it turns out erotic (this is a personal opinion).
The suspicious merchant (self-proclaimed) would have been beaten up by Kalisa and torn to pieces by Oscar if he'd tried any forceful measures. Since he was at least gentlemanly even if suspicious, the Black Knights were also gentlemanly (not really).
Typos and omissions to be corrected another day. I've fixed the typos and omissions I found.