kscans

Chapter 179 - The Lord and I, 3. Attire

Baron Darren, who now saw the boy before him in a completely new light, re-examined him. In doing so, he noticed a fact he had carelessly overlooked until now. The boy’s clothes were of a far higher quality than they appeared.

To explain the circumstances behind this, it went something like this...

First, it should be noted that Yuri had changed his clothes that morning before visiting the baron. Until then, he had been dressed in a woolen shirt and trousers that prioritized durability, along with a fur jacket. He had changed into a fine shirt and trousers, and a woolen jacket. Incidentally, the jacket was a masterpiece woven from the hair of a Tyrantbot. Upon seeing the jacket, Adon had looked as if he wanted to say something, but he had not pressed the issue at the time. ...It seemed he intended to question him thoroughly later.

To return to the story, this shirt and trousers were not made by Yuri, but were acquired in Laurenzen last year. He had gone to a tailor with a request for clothing that was appropriate for a formal occasion but did not exceed the station of a commoner. The tailor recommended a shirt, one with a collar like a polo shirt, and a pair of trousers that had belonged to a certain respectable family. The shirt was beige, and the trousers were black. He was told this color combination would be suitable for most occasions. The high-quality shirt and trousers were being sold at a bargain price, considering their quality, for a reason... both were a perfect fit for the current Yuri. In other words, they were children's clothes. The owner had apparently outgrown them and traded them in. Being from a good family, the quality was more than sufficient. Even to Yuri's sensibilities as a former modern Japanese person, the quality and design seemed like they would pass even in a formal setting. However...

"Don’t you have a matching jacket for the trousers?"
"The owner is having the jacket altered to fit, so we couldn’t get them to sell it. In any case, it’s formal wear for a nobleman, so it’s not something a boy like you could wear."
"What should I do when it’s cold?"
"Just throw on a suitable cape and you’ll be fine. A proper dignitary wouldn’t expect that much from a commoner."

Yuri was somewhat convinced by this exchange, but still, formal wear without a jacket seemed somehow incomplete to him, a former modern Japanese person. And besides, wouldn’t it be rude to the other party? Old Man Audel had told him he could just buy something suitable, but because the shirt and trousers were of such high quality, anything he paired them with was outshone. The tailor confessed that this was actually why they hadn't sold. Still, if he missed this opportunity, it was unlikely he would find such a nice shirt and trousers again, so Yuri had decided to buy them. Besides... Yuri had a plan.

(...The Tyrantbot’s hair is a glossy black. If I tailor a jacket from cloth woven from that, it shouldn't be too out of place...)

And so, the garment Yuri was currently wearing was a sleeveless jacket woven from Tyrantbot hair. The design of the jacket itself was not formal, by Yuri’s standards, but rather had the feel of European folk costume. This way, he wouldn’t be criticized for imitating a nobleman, and people would see it as the result of a commoner doing his best to dress up, and look upon him with a warm, or perhaps lukewarm, gaze. Tyrantbot wool offered a decent degree of protection from both cold and cuts, so as far as Yuri was concerned, there was no problem. So he tried making it himself...

(I was counting on the skill being unlocked... but it was only unlocked after I finished sewing the jacket... Thanks to that, it has an amateurish finish...)

Yuri was indignant that it was too late, but if you considered that he had acquired the skill by sewing and processing the Tyrantbot wool, he had no grounds to complain. Yuri knew that, but it was also a fact that he felt it was somewhat unfair. Incidentally, the jacket was sleeveless because the amount of thread he could spin from the fur he had, and by extension the amount of cloth he could weave, was a limiting factor.

(Well, it’s just a country bumpkin doing his best to dress up anyway. It probably doesn’t make much of a difference.)

In Yuri's mind, he was just a country boy raised in the mountains wearing a hand-woven jacket... but he remained unaware of just how luxurious that "handmade item" was.

To return to Baron Darren's perspective.

Though the House of Darren had a simple and sturdy family tradition, they were still a noble family at the end of the day. He had recognized that the shirt and trousers Yuri was wearing were of high quality, and had accepted that they had probably come from some other noble house.

What he could not accept was the jacket.

(...The design and quality do not match. The design itself looks either rustic or foreign... but that glossiness... what on earth is it made of?)

Unfortunately, word of the Tyrantbot incident that had occurred in Laurenzen had not reached Darrens. That said, he had heard that Yuri lived on Salt-Sour Mountain, so he could guess that it was made from some material found there. There was a certain amateurishness to the tailoring as well. But it was also a fact that the jacket radiated an elegance that blew away any such amateurishness. And...

(...At first glance it looks rustic, but it’s designed to match the shirt and trousers. To stand on par with a shirt and trousers that look like they're for nobility without being outshone... that's not just due to the quality of the material. The design itself is simple yet elegant. ...This is not something a mere country bumpkin could create. ...The story of him being from a distinguished foreign family might not be so far-fetched after all...)