Costume Making
I was asked by Shiraishi-san to make a waitress uniform.
The first thing I had to do was create a pattern.
To make a pattern, a few things are necessary:
- Ruler
- Pencil
- Eraser
- Scissors
All of these were given to me by the village chief. Why he even had them is a mystery.
The last thing I needed was a measuring tape.
I already had one, so no problem there.
I laid the pattern paper on the table and began sketching the design.
First came the skirt.
Next, the apron and the one-piece dress.
Finally, I designed the headpiece and the shoes.
I picked up the finished blueprint.
“Alright! Perfect!”
I praised myself, thinking I’d done a fine job.
But there was one problem.
“Guess I should call Shiraishi-san…”
Shiraishi-san was sleeping soundly in bed.
“Well… can’t be helped. I’ll just move things along on my own.”
I gathered the materials and began crafting.
First, I needed to make the fabric. To do that, I had to spin the thread.
“This is pretty tedious…”
Once the thread was spun, I used a loom to weave it into cloth.
“There, now I’ve got fabric…”
Next, I used the sewing machine. The village chief had one at his house.
“Alright then…”
When the work was done, I stretched out with a big yawn.
“Yep! This should be good.”
To check, I went to wake Shiraishi-san.
“Hey, Shiraishi-san, wake up—”
“Mmm… is it morning already~?”
She rubbed her eyes and sat up.
“Good morning.”
“Good mooorning! Did you sleep well last night?”
She asked with a smile.
“Nope. Didn’t sleep at all. I pulled an all-nighter.”
“Ahaha, that’s rough! Then hey, why don’t you just take the whole day off?”
“Fine by me. I don’t have plans anyway. I’ll catch some sleep.”
“Got it! Good night~”
I went back to my room and crawled into bed.
“Yaaawn… so tired. I’ll just nap a bit…”
And with that, I drifted off.
By the time I woke up, it was around noon. My body felt heavy—probably from staying up all night. Rubbing my eyes, I headed into the room where Shiraishi-san was.
“Morning.”
“Ah! You’re finally up!”
“Hm? You seem pretty cheerful.”
“Heheh~ guess what I found earlier!”
“What’s that?”
“This right here! It’s a grimoire!”
“A grimoire, huh…”
“Just like the name says, it’s a magic book! Wanna read it?”
“I’ll pass.”
“You’re no fun~ and it’s so interesting too~”
“So what’re you doing with it?”
“I’m studying! I thought maybe I could learn magic. Who knows, maybe there’s even a spell to make clothes!”
“Is that so…”
“I mean, I love the clothes you made me, Kurose, but… I kinda wanna try making my own, you know? Something I really like♪”
“Well, good luck with that.”
“Yep! I’ll do my best!”
I sat down beside her and watched her study. After a while, she spoke up.
“Hey?”
“What is it?”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Do you think I’m cute?”
“That’s sudden…”
“Just answer!”
“Well, yeah. I think you’re cute.”
“Do you *really* mean that?”
“Why would I lie about it?”
“Then I’m glad…”
“What brought that on?”
“I dunno… I just started feeling kinda insecure…”
“You’re fine.”
“You think so…?”
“Yeah. Have a little confidence.”
“Mm! Okay! Thanks, Kurose.”
“Don’t mention it.”
I stood up and headed for the door.
“Where are you going?”
“Out for a walk.”
“Okay! See you later!”
As I strolled outside, I thought to myself:
I’ve got to continue working once I get back.
“Making costumes sure ain’t easy.”
And so, after about a week of effort, the outfit was finally complete.
Shiraishi-san was thrilled—but she still hadn’t worn it.
The reason? She said it was too embarrassing.
I really wanted her to put it on right away… but since she refused, I had no choice but to start working on something else.
What do you think about this chapter?
