#783 Frontier Genius

It is I, the young prodigy seamstress, Shalanthea.

Huh? I’m still just an apprentice, you say?

Quiet, you.

Even as an apprentice, a genius has been different from the rest since birth.

What am I saying? There’s an aura about them!

You know, like, they shine brighter than the rest!!!

And they’re lucky!

Being here at the Saint’s Farm makes that all the clearer!

At first, I was lamenting, thinking I’d been sent to some random countryside, but now I see it was a misunderstanding.

For someone devoted to aesthetics, living on the farm is the best environment there is!!!

Being forcibly moved from the Demon Capital’s fashion brand Mixpider to this new setting...

It’s overflowing with things you’d hardly see in everyday life!!!

A mansion with a never-before-seen architectural style! It feels so exotic as if you’re in a foreign land!!!

Delicious dishes! I’ve never tasted such dishes, even in the capital! They’re colorful and so tasty! …Though some are sold in the capital… Huh? These are the originals?!

There are not only demons but humans and merfolk, too! Listening to their stories is refreshing and a great inspiration for my work!!!

Elves and dwarves readily share their craft techniques and creative theories, and to top it all off, there are even dragons and Lifeless Kings!!!

It’s impossible to see the World’s Two Greatest Calamities up close if you stay in the Demon Capital!!!

The valuable experiences here will surely nourish my creative endeavors!

This place truly deserves to be called Noujou’s main base!!!

I’m so glad I came to this farm!

To my peers who stayed behind in the Demon Capital out of fear of adventure, just you wait! When I return after learning everything on the farm, you’ll realize your mistake!!!

Oh, I can’t wait to see the stupefied look on their faces!!!

***

“Stop daydreaming and get to work, Shalanthea.”

“Eeeeek!!!”

Even at this farm, Kito, my colleague, gives me an earful.

So, whether I like it or not, I’m back to reality.

The harsh reality of having to sew countless shirts.

“We need to deliver fifty new white shirts to the orcs by tomorrow! If we don’t finish this on time, it’ll interfere with the goblin order the day after!!!”

“I didn’t become a seamstress just to sew shirtssssssssssssss!!!!”

Living in the headquarters of Noujou, my dream workplace, turned out to be quite challenging.

Seems like they think, “Half-baked apprentices should pay their dues,” and every day, we’re tasked with making clothes for the orcs and goblins living on this farm!

Simple designs with no sense of style whatsoever!

I can’t believe they’re making me sew these day in and day out. This isn’t what I envisioned as designer training!!!

And why are we hand-sewing?!

The farm has a magical tool called a sewing machine, right?!

With that, we could finish much faster than hand-sewing, but they won’t let us use it!

This is just cruel!

Are they trying to torment us?!

“I think it’s good training, though,” says the annoyingly calm Kito, my fellow tailor stuck in this endless hand-sewing hell. “That sewing machine isn’t common. It’s quite rare, in fact. If we, still inexperienced, get too used to its convenience, it could be detrimental. We won’t be able to function as tailors everywhere.”

W-Well... maybe, but...!

“Don’t you think this job is great for gaining foundational experience? Sewing this many shirts is an opportunity you wouldn’t easily get at Mixpider. We’re completing years’ worth of grunt work here in just a few weeks.”

Ugh, this earnest guy, I swear.

Always seeing the bright side.

I just want to use the sewing machine! I want to design cutting-edge dresses!

But instead, they’re making me do this tedious apprenticeship. That old hag Batemy is just tormenting us young ones!!!

“Be careful what you say; she’s a retired soldier.”

I don’t care if she’s s retired soldier! She’s stuck in her old, stubborn ways and thinks everything can be solved with grit and determination!

“Watch what you say, or she might hear you... Ah, too late!”

“Good morning, my little fledglings!”

Here she comes!

The boss of this workshop! The unreasonable ex-soldier, Batemy!

She’s married and left the farm, so now she comes to work every day using teleportation magic!

Seeing her face...

“Hmm... She’s glowing...?!”

“This must be the newlywed glow...?!”

There was a time when I respected her, knowing she was a designer for Noujou, but now I realize I was just deluding myself!

After all, she’s a former soldier! Her tastes are as dull as lead! 

But even someone like her can develop decent designs on this farm! If someone naturally talented like me trains here, I’ll surpass her in no time!

So, forget about the hand-sewing training, and let me design the dresses!

“Heh-heh-heh, you seem pretty irritated, huh? Is continuous hand-sewing really that unbearable?”

Oh, come on! You knew it was a pain, yet you made us do it? You’re so mean!

“However, if you’re getting frustrated over this, you’re definitely not cut out to be in charge of the farm’s clothing. This is a kind of entrance test. I’m checking if you all have the basic vitality.”

Huh?

What do you mean?

“Batemy, are you hereeee?”

Suddenly bursting into the workshop is... Lord Saint?!

The owner of this farm?!

“Here, Lord Saint.”

“Good timing! I actually have some clothes I’d like you to make for me!”

“Of course, I’ll prioritize it above all other orders.”

Kuh...

So Lord Saint’s request takes precedence over everything else...?! It’s expected, given he’s the owner of this farm.

“What is it this time? Casual wear? Formal attire?”

“I want a hakama with my family crest on it!!!”

...? 

What’s that? 

A haka-what?

I studied in the Demon Capital, and even I have no idea what he’s talking about!

“Oops, I guess just naming it isn’t enough, huh? By hakama with family crests, I mean a set of kimono and hakama with family crests on the chest of the kimono! Like the ones worn by powerful generals! And it should have fluffy pom-poms in the middle of the string that ties the kimono! I want one like that!”

I’m totally lost!

Is Lord Saint speaking a foreign language by any chance?!

“Understood. I’ll make it as the farm’s seamstress.”

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!

She got it?! She understood that incoherent description?!

“You’re a lifesaver, Batemy! You always make clothes just the way I imagine them! Now, I’ll focus on building the shrine!”

And just like that, Lord Saint was gone as quickly as he appeared.

What is even happening?!

Then, about an hour later...

***

“It’s done! How’s this, Lord Saint?!”

“Wow! It’s exactly how I pictured it! Thanks a bunch, Batemy!!!”

No way!

She produced a masterpiece that matched his request perfectly from that utterly confusing explanation?!

How is such a miracle even possible?!

“Get it now? This is the vitality needed to survive on the farm!” declares Batemy. “Understanding and accurately replicating Lord Saint’s words, an otherworld, based on intuition alone! That’s the most crucial skill for making clothes on the farm! I’ve gone beyond my limits to acquire that ability! You all need to surpass your limits, too!!!”

Wh-What...?!

Batemy, who I thought was just lazing around, had acquired such an incredible skill?!

How much hardship did it take for her to reach that point?!

I stand corrected! Batemy is a fantastic designer!

I’ll give it my all! Please teach me all your techniques, Batemy!

“Oh, by the way, Batemy...?”

“Yes, Lord Saint?”

“I wanted it in Junior’s size. This looks like it’s made for me...!”

... 

As it turns out, Batemy missed a crucial detail after all.