Chapter 414

Lily's Dress
This time, before heading north, Marquis Vardmoi gave me a bit of homework.
I had to make my own dress.
Yeah, it’s a problem I had been putting off for a while.

"My dress, huh? What kind should I make, Plum?"

"You are a designer yourself, are you not? Why are you asking me?"

"I know, but when it comes to making something for myself, I just can’t picture it."

"How should I put this... it’s quite something."

Until now, no matter where I went, I always got by in my adventurer outfit.
Even though I’m a Silver-ranked merchant, I’m still an ordinary citizen, and the people I met were mostly acquaintances of Marquis Vardmoi, so I never needed a dress.
Even when I went to the Old Royal Capital last winter, I only made a dress because I had to, and everything else was just a side bonus.
The Trade Guild hadn't given me any special instructions either, so I managed without it until now—but it looks like I can’t avoid it anymore.
Now then, what should I do?

"Lily, you’re not from this country, are you?"

"That’s right. Why do you ask?"

"Then, don’t you have a dress from your homeland?"

"A dress from my homeland... Ah, that’s an idea!"

I had been so used to seeing only Western-style dresses in this world that I had completely forgotten—kimono are formal attire too!
Right, I’ll go with that.
Alright, let’s sketch out the structure of a kimono...

"Hmm? What kind of kimono would be good for this situation?"

Even if you say kimono, there are many types, aren’t there?
Tomesode, furisode, uchikake, and so on.
Tomesode is formal wear for married women, if I remember correctly, so furisode, maybe?
Furisode is strongly associated with celebratory days, but since that kind of custom doesn’t exist in this world, it should be fine.

"Let’s see, furisode has long sleeves and elaborate embroidery, right? Hmm, it’s autumn, so I’ll go with maple leaf embroidery."

I drew patterns for the furisode and the other necessary items.
I’ll consult about the sandals later.
I can’t do much about embroidery during the sewing stage, so I’ll make up for it with magic embroidery.
Since the designs are bigger and more detailed than the dresses I usually make, it turned out to be fairly challenging.
Still, the fact that I am capable of finishing in a single day shows that I’ve grown.
Normally, how long would this take if done by hand?

"Since I can use Talat’s silk for the fabric, that makes it easier. Making the entire thing out of silk sounds pretty luxurious too."

Since I’m the only one who understands the structure of a kimono, there’s no helping it.
No helping it at all.

"Alright, finished! … Huh? How do you put it on again?"

I remembered how to make a kimono because I had made one back when I was into gaming, but I didn’t know how to properly put it on.
After all, the game didn’t require me to think about the details of dressing properly.
Well, thanks to a book from the Goddess, I managed to have one of Plum’s attendants learn it for me.
Because there's no way I could remember it myself!

What do you think about this chapter?